The Shadow's Embrace
by SincereNaruto
Summary: Naruto begins a new mission to Sunagakure with Gaara, but a new threat quickly sees the boy landing in a heap of trouble once more. Now his only hope lies in those that have sworn to help him, his new family and friends. SEQUEL TO 'TEARS OF HOPE' NaruxHin
1. Chapter 1

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

Hello once again. This will be my second story I've written so far. :)  
**Note:** This is the sequel to my first story **'Tears of Hope'** so if you haven't read that yet, I would suggest you do that first. This follows directly afterwards and makes references to the original.

With that all said I had good feedback on the first story so I'm glad to be writing a sequel. This is for you! :D

This story is about the aftermath of what happened to Naruto and how it has affected his life and the way his companions treat him. A new mission finds Naruto and some of his friends heading off to Sunagakure. But a dark shadow is lurking on the horizon and a new threat seeks to shatter the boy's recently renewed hope. Will Naruto survive the darkness, or will he be consumed once again by it's embrace. Hope you enjoy! :)

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**Chapter 1 - A New Mission**

A new day dawns in the village of Konoha as the warm rays of the sun gently began to pierce into a small room. As it's gentle touch caressed the face of sleeping boy, two blue eyes began to stir open into it's comforting light. As he wiped his eyes from the previous night's sleep, the small room that surrounded him slowly blurred into view. To most people, this was a normal everyday occurrence, but to Naruto the miracle of life was a precious commodity that had been given to him by the love and kindness of his friends. Every day his eyes opened, the memories of everything that had happened to him flowed freely through his mind and he thanked the heavens for giving him the warmth of their hope.

Naruto sat up and placed his feet over the side of his small bed, stretching out his arms and legs while an exhausted yawn fell from his mouth. He stood up to his feet and walked to the kitchen, setting the kettle to boil for his early morning breakfast. Life had pretty much returned to how it once was, before everything that had happened to the boy. At least from the outside anyway. Inside, however, Naruto's soul had changed somewhat, almost blossoming into something more than it once was. At the same time, there were still deep inner emotions that the boy still had to come to terms with. It would still take a while for his heart to completely mend from the damage it had been dealt, but things were definitely getting better. As Naruto searched around the nearby cupboards, rummaging through it's now filled contents, he eventual grasped a packet of instant ramen and pulled it out. His apartment was far better stocked than it had been in a while. Tsunade had heard about his lack of sufficient supplies from Sakura, when the pink haired girl had visited him few days before and had since decided to twist a few arms into helping the Naruto out. He felt very ashamed about receiving charity so easily, but the insistent looks from the Hokage pushed him into reluctant acceptance.

The kettle slowly came to the boil and let out a sharp whistle, alerting an otherwise dazed Naruto to it's presence. He carefully grasped the handle's base with a cloth in hand, desperately trying not to get burned, and then poured it into the bowl that held his morning meal. To Naruto, life in the village of Konoha had never been easy. He lived off only what he could afford, often eating nothing but instant ramen for days on end. But he didn't mind so much and was never one to complain. Ramen was his favorite food after all, although the instant variant was never near as good as Ichiraku's more home-felt cooking. Naruto never had a family to support him or care for his needs, not even a distant relative. He had to rely on the good graces of the third Hokage just to put a roof over his head, at least until he started earning money from his missions as a shinobi. Even then, the low pay of completing D or C-ranked mission was hardly enough to carry the rent alone, much less anything else.

But as long as he had friends, he didn't care about any of that. To him, the bonds he had formed were worth more than anything money could ever buy. He was contempt knowing that they cared for him despite the secret he held inside his body. They were his family now and he would do anything to keep them by his side. The thought of ever losing any of them was something he just couldn't bare. His existence would be worth nothing if they ever abandoned him to loneliness once more. After finishing his breakfast, Naruto stepped into his shower, his body relaxing it's tension as the warm water oozed into his skin. It's tingling sensation reminded him that he was still alive, that he had indeed survived the trials that stood against him and endured their pain and hardships.

Naruto stood under the massaging water for what felt like an eternity, his mind wondering once again as he was lulled into a dreamlike state. After a few more minutes, he finally finished cleaning himself and stepped out to get dressed. He slipped into his normal orange and navy blue attire and walked over to retrieve his forehead protector from the nearby shelf. As he picked up it's shiny form firmly into his hands, Naruto took a moment to read the warm-hearted messages his friends had engraved inside. The boy made a habit of doing this every morning since he had been released to go home, reminding himself of his worth and the love of those close to him. It was almost as though that simple act gave him all the strength he needed to get through the rest of the day.

As he tied his headband around his forehead, Naruto's eyes caught a glimpse of the photograph he and his friends had all taken together a few days earlier. It was sitting right next to his picture of team seven. He picked up its wooden frame and looked longingly at the warm smiles staring back at him. He felt so happy on that day, like the whole world had come to a temporary standstill just to give him the freedom to smile. Naruto then looked over to the red haired shinobi that stood nearby him in the photo. Even Gaara's face seemed to have lightened up into a grin, despite the boy's normally stoic expression. It was like he himself had changed in the short time he spent in Konoha, almost as though a new purpose had embedded itself in his soul and reignited the meaning of his existence.

Naruto suddenly snapped back from his thoughts, shaking his head from side to side to regain his grip on reality. He knew he had to hurry to the Hokage's tower for a mission briefing from Tsunade and he didn't want to be late. He carefully returned the picture to its place on his shelf and rushed out the door, racing over to his destination as fast as his feet could carry him. Naruto darted across the rooftops while the thoughts of what they would be doing raced through his mind. Excitement had already overcome his entire body at the thought of a new adventure, knowing the mission had to be somewhat important if Tsunade was briefing their team directly. He was tired of all the D-rank missions the Hokage had been giving him, although he knew she probably did it because she was still concerned about his health. As he approached the massive structure that was the Hokage tower, Naruto quickly raced in through the front entrance and down its busy hallway. He could see his teammates entering through the door to Tsunade's office just as it came into view.

"I'm... here now" Naruto panted, as he stepped into the room. Everyone shot around to face the tired boy, his pants growing heavy from his rushed exhaustion. Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi were already inside. "You're later than usual" Sasuke smirked, eyeing out the exhausted body before them. "Even Kakashi was here before you. What were you doing to keep you so long?" Naruto's face flushed bright red as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well... you know... I was just... hey wait! Kakashi-sensei got here early!?" Naruto's jaw dropped as his finger shot up to point in surprise. Kakashi just gave off what looked like a smile under his mask and waved at the blond haired genin. "Would you keep the Hokage waiting?" he murmured, turning to face the increasingly impatient Tsunade. "No... I guess not."

Tsunade cleared her throat to gain the attention of the present shinobi. "I'm sure you're all quite fascinated by all of this, but we do have a mission to attend to." Naruto shot back into attention at the sound of Tsunade's words. He was exploding with so much enthusiasm that it was almost tangible. "So Baachan, what are we doing this time? Are you finally giving us a B-rank mission?... or... or maybe an A-rank mission." Tsunade just gave off a deep sigh as the proverbial bomb shook franticly in front of her. She was glad to see Naruto's remarkable recovery, but this was a bit much even for him. She hadn't seen so much flare in a room since Gai and Lee explained the concept behind the power of youth to her. Tsunade would sooner throw herself of the top of a building than sit through something like that again.

Tsunade snapped out of her now wondering thoughts and resumed her composure. "Anyway" she finally continued. "You've been called here for an escort mission. Our client should be..." "What?!" Tsunade's eyes shot up to meet the now pouting Naruto. "Why an escort mission? That's so boring! Nothing exciting ever happens on those" Naruto cried, his body slouching over in disappointment. Kakashi just gave out a deep sigh. "You said that the last time we had to escort someone and you remember what happened there don't you?" Naruto's body suddenly tightened up again. "Oh yea, you mean with that old man Tazuna. But that was just a fluke, what are the chances of something like that happening twice?" Tsunade cleared her throat again, breaking up the conversation so that she could continue. "I'm sure you'll find this one quite pleasant Naruto. The client is a personal friend of yours, not to mention the fact that you'll be visiting a place I'm sure you'll be excited to see."

Tsunade nudged her head towards the doorway, coercing everyone to look in it's direction. Two black sandal wearing feet stepped slowly into view, revealing the red enveloped sand shinobi as he entered in from the hallway, causing Naruto to jump in surprise. "Huh?! Gaara! I thought you left Konoha already! Have... have you been assigned to this mission to?" he muttered, surprised to see the sand shinobi still in the village. Sakura walked up to the blond haired boy and proceeded to knock him over the head with a closed fist. "You idiot! Gaara is obviously the client Tsunade-sama is talking about!" Tsunade nodded her head. "Saukura's right. You'll be escorting Gaara safely back to Sunagakure. Baki has been too busy running errands and hasn't been able to retrieve him yet. Due to the dangers of travelling such a long distance alone, I've assigned you four to guard him and have also called in three additional shinobi to be temporarily assigned to your squad." Naruto was now completely confused. It might have been the large bump that now bulged out of his head, but he was pretty sure this all seemed a little bit wonky. Not only was their client one of his closest friends, but there were even more shinobi joining them as well. All that still didn't do much to deter the excitement he felt inside however. It would be good to spend more time with the sand shinobi that had grown into his friend and the chance to see the famed Sunagakure was equally enticing.

"So, when do we leave?!" Naruto yelped with glee, now growing excited about the mission once again. Tsunade noticed the large grin etching itself into his whiskered face. It was different to the smiles he normally gave off before. Almost more... genuine, as though it were the first time he truly felt happy in life. She stood from her desk and then finished her briefing. "Your new teammates will meet you at the entrance outside of Konoha. After you've made contact with them, you are to leave immediately. You are all dismissed!" Everyone then proceeded to exit the door as she finished, Naruto rushing out to catch up to Gaara's side. There was allot for them to talk about and Naruto knew his time with the boy was limited. Kakashi was the only one to remain behind.

"You have something to ask?" Tsunade sighed, falling back into her chair. Kakashi's mask did little to conceal the concern evident on his face and Tsunade knew he wouldn't stay unless he was troubled. "Yes, in fact I do. I find it very strange that you've assigned so many shinobi to one mission, especially considering it's an escort mission where being subtle is of most importance. Something else is going on that you haven't let on to." Tsunade gave out a deep sigh. She knew Kakashi wouldn't be easily fooled. "It's Naruto isn't it?" he continued, as if to state the glaringly obvious. He always did have a knack for picking up on the subtle hints that can be read by a persons body language. It was made even easier by the fact that Tsunade never once took her eyes off the boy during the whole meeting. He could see that they were filled with concern, or maybe even fear.

"Heh! I really should try to cover my emotions a bit better" Tsunade sighed. "No one can blame you. We were all shaken by what happened to Naruto. I myself have also had a difficult time just letting him go home by himself after our missions. I've tried to offer my company, but I don't think Naruto likes to feel as though he's a hindrance." Tsunade took some comfort in Kakashi's words. At least someone else knew exactly how she felt. She just couldn't let the boy they had almost lost forever fall into any further danger. "I knew he would catch onto the fact that I'm trying to keep him from harm by handing out lower rank missions." she began to respond. "He would be furious if he knew that the only reason I wasn't giving him anything higher than D-rank rank missions was because of my own fears for his safety." Kakashi nodded in understanding. "So you gave him a C-rank mission to ease his tension, but also made sure he was well enough protected. That's why you've added additional shinobi to our team."

Tsunade let out another deep sigh, before slowly nodding her head. It disturbed the Hokage that her intentions had so easily been read. It was a good thing Naruto was too naive, or innocent, to see through her ploy. He was probably so happy about being able to spend more time with Gaara on his way back home that he didn't even recognize anything out of the ordinary... she hoped. But, none the less, it was a convenient surprise that served her purpose quite nicely. Kakashi, having confirmed his suspicions, turned to walk out the door. "Wait Kakashi!" Tsunade gulped, slouching even deeper into her chair. Kakashi turned his head around to see her terrified face staring back at him. It was unusually pale, almost oozing with a sickening look of genuine fear. "Please... please just watch him carefully. I can't lose anyone else precious to me, my soul just wouldn't be able to bare it." Kakashi gave one last heavy nod and then turned out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as he was out of view, Tsunade allowed her emotions to crumble loose. Her facial expression dropped into what could be described as instant depression and tears stung at the back of her eyes. A sinking feeling formed in her gut, almost warning her to call them back. But she had to let go, she had to let Naruto live his life how he wanted to, otherwise the boy would never be happy again.

Kakashi walked slowly down the hallway out of the Hokage tower, his mind wondering back and forth between his thoughts. It had become very clear just how important Naruto had become to them all. They all needed his glow of kindness and understanding just as much as he needed their love and acceptance. A life without the bright eyed boy now sounded like an empty proposition, one that those who knew him would never be able to live with. Kakashi shook of the ill feeling that had formed over his stomach. He had to concentrate on the mission. They would all have to be prepared for the long journey ahead of them. The trip to Sunagakure was a few days at best and they had to be ready for any trouble. He only hoped the addition of extra shinobi didn't alert Naruto to their concerns.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new story. More will come soon!  
Please review!


	2. Chapter 2 Departure

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

This fanfic belongs to me. If you want to use it in any way shape or form, you'll need my permission first.

Well I hope the first chapter in my new story was good. It's a little bit difficult to start from the beginning again, but I think it will be easier with a back story to build onto.  
My chapters will also be a little bit longer than they were in my first story. This means I'll may have fewer chapters overall (: maybe, but maybe not :) and I may not update as quickly. (: Still aiming for at least once a day though :)

Hope you enjoy the second chapter. :)

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**Chapter 2 - Departure**

As the shuffling of feet sounded throughout the busy streets of Konoha, a lone jounin makes his way slowly towards the village entrance. Kakashi's thoughts had not once deterred from the conversation he just had with the Hokage. The way she reacted regarding Naruto was not only unusual, but it was completely disturbing as well. To see such a headstrong woman falter like that made Kakashi overly concerned himself. As he made his way past the bustling stores and workshops, the sounds of hammer strikes and grating saw were suddenly overshadowed by the familiar voice he knew all to well. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, over here!" It was Naruto and he had Sakura, Sasuke and Gaara standing beside him. They were all waiting for him on the side of the road, neither of them having reached the village entrance yet. Naruto jumped up and down on the spot, waving his hands in the air to gain the jounin's attention, as well as gaining a few other glances from everyone else around him. "I thought you guys would be outside the village already, what are you still doing here?" he murmured as he stepped up to the three.

"We were waiting for you Kakashi-sensei. I wanted to know what you were talking to Baachan about." Kakashi just gave out a sigh. Although Naruto wasn't able to pick up on Tsunade's ploy straight away, his inquisitive mind may have still been their undoing. He looked over to Sasuke, who just shrugged his shoulders in despondence. Sakura and Gaara didn't show any interest either, almost as though they already knew what was going on. "That's none of your concern Naruto" Kakashi finally replied. "You just worry about the mission at hand and let me worry about the details" Naruto gave off an angry pout, upset that his sensei held him in such low regard. "I'm not stupid you know. I can see exactly what's going on here" the boy grumbled, folding his arms in front of him. "What, he's caught on so quickly?" Kakashi thought to himself, now sweating under his mask. "You were trying to sneak off one last chapter in your stupid books before we left!"

Kakashi gave off a relieved sigh. It seemed as though the typically naive ninja hadn't caught on after all. "Yea, sure, that's exactly what happened. Now if you don't mind it's time for us to get going." Naruto was now completely surprised and confused by his sensei's apparent honesty, but he didn't feel like arguing the point any longer. The four continued to make their way down to the village entrance, Naruto searching desperately to find out who had been assigned to their team. As the large wooden gates came into view, the boy could finally start to make out the figures who stood just outside. He immediately recognized the long white hair of his personal teacher, as well as a dark green outfit that easily gave Lee away. It took a while for him to recognise the third person standing on the pathway, but soon the timid girl he knew as Hinata appeared from behind the tower that was Jiraiya, poking her fingers nervously together.

"Hey, are you guys the ones Tsunade sent to join our squad?!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to the now alerted shinobi. Jiraiya just gave out a small chuckle at the approach of the hyperactive ninja. "I see the fire of youth burns brightly in your soul once again!" Lee smiled, falling straight into his nice guy pose. Naruto replied with his own feral grin, scratching the back of his head with glee. "Yea, it's good to finally be out of that boring hospital, I don't think I could have taken much more of it." "Yes, I know what you mean." Lee replied. "I think between the two of us, we've clocked enough hospital time for most of the shinobi in Konoha." Naruto gave off a small giggle at Lee's words. He was glad to have fussy brows on the mission with him. Hinata, however, just continued to nervously prod her two fingers together, her face becoming a bright red flush as the boy she admired came closer to where she stood. "Hey Hinata! Is... is something wrong?" Hinata just spun around as Naruto spoke, hiding her embarrassment from the boy. "N... no... there's... n.. n.. nothing wrong. I'm just... happy we're going on a... a mission together." Naruto gave off another wide grin. "I'm happy to! It's good to get out of the village once in a while." Hinata almost collapsed on the spot. Not only was Naruto in much higher spirits, but he was also happy to be going on a mission with her. It was almost to much for the timid Hyuuga to handle. Her face became as red as Lee's had been when he opened the celestial gates. If it weren't for the miraculously cool breeze that passed by she probably would have passed out already.

The rest of team 7, as well as Gaara, stepped up to the group and shared there greetings between one another. After a few handshakes and hugs were passed, Jiraiya trailed off to the side with Kakashi and the two began to talk under their breath so no-one could hear their words. Naruto caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye, Jiraiya nodding his head in deep thought while Kakashi seemed to be explaining something to him. The bright smile that had been etched on the boy's face quickly fell away as he watched the two turn away from him, almost as if to hide their words from his view. It was all very suspicious, almost as though he was the subject of their discussion. But before he could even think to ask, Gaara placed his hand on the now nervous boy's shoulder, as though he had sensed his distress. "I know it's been a while since you've been on an actual mission, but there is no need to be worried. Everything will be fine." Naruto turned to the emotionless face that was Gaara. His own emotions seemed to peel away at the sound of the sand shinobi's words. He felt as though he could tell the red headed boy everything he felt inside, without fear of rejection or guilt.

"No, it's not that I'm nervous about the mission. It's just that... it's like there's something going on behind my back that no-one wants to tell me about. I've had to live my entire life being lied to by the villagers and my teachers. No-one ever told me that the monster fox had been sealed inside my body. I never knew why I was hated and neglected until that traitor Mizuki shot his mouth off. I probably still wouldn't know to this day if it weren't for that incident. Now it just feels like it's happening all over again. Why can't anyone just trust me? Everything just seems to happen around me and I'm always the last to know about it." Naruto's eyes seemed to drop as he flooded Gaara with his built-up feelings and concerns. It was almost as though he was describing how he had been feeling for some quite some time now.

Gaara just squeezed Naruto's shoulder tightly in comfort as he finished voicing his frustration. "You know, I'm sure that whatever your friends are doing, they are probably doing it out of concern for you, not out of ill intentions. Besides, you may be reading too deep into what you think you see going on around you." Naruto grimaced for a moment, allowing the memories of everything his friends had done for him up until now to flow into his mind. They had put their lives on the line to protect him and make him happy. Surely they wouldn't do that if they didn't care for him. After a brief moment, he finally gave a subdued nod. "I... I guess you're right. Maybe I'm just overreacting. They wouldn't keep things from me... would they?"

Naruto turned away from Gaara and walked off to the nearby bench with a heavy head. The sand shinobi just gave off a deep sigh as he watched the boy slouch into the wooden frame. He knew that everyone had become a bit overprotective of Naruto since the villagers had tortured and almost killed the young genin. He himself had a difficult time keeping his eyes off the boy that had become his closest friend. Even the thought of returning home and leaving Naruto's side bothered the Gaara. As he stood gazing over Naruto's sullen form, Sasuke slowly walked up to the sand shinobi's side. "It's good to see he has you to count on as well." He murmured. "I'm glad that you two have become good friends, it makes it easier knowing he has someone else looking after him as well."

Gaara turned to face the Uchiha as he finished speaking. Sasuke's eyes were also fixed intensely on the blond haired boy that sat on the bench, also filled with a deep concern. Gaara then turned to share in his view again before answering. "I know how you feel about all of this, but I'm not sure Naruto wants to be looked after at this point in time. He just wants things to return to how they once were. I think he misses the times when he could wander freely without the fear of being closed off from those around him. The fact is, I think he's starting to feel more isolated than ever before." Sasuke was surprised to hear what the Gaara had to say, but before the two could continue to speak a voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Okay everyone, I think it's time for us to make our leave!" Jiraiya shouted, gaining the attention of the present shinobi. Everyone made their way over to the old hermit and stood at attention, Naruto having slowly skulked over to his sensei. Hinata couldn't help but blush as the boy stood at her side, but his eyes were to fixated on the ground to even notice her change in skin colour. "It will be a few days to Sunagakure" Kakashi continued, taking over in Jiraiya's stead. "We'll be camping out for most of our stops, but there may be a few taverns and inns that we could take advantage of as well. We'll all have to keep a steady eye out for any danger, although I don't expect to see any problems on our way. Any questions?"

Lee just flared up in excitement, blasting strait into his nice guy pose once again. "We'll all do our best and protect Gaara-kun! Failure will not be tolerated!" The glow around Lee's enthusiastic form was almost a visible flame. If none of the present shinoi knew any better, one would have thought the green clad genin had a natural affinity for fire based jutsu. You would expect a flaming comet to come falling out of the sky to strike the ground where he stood at any moment. Jiraiya, however, noticed the unusually mellow expression that had suddenly appeared on his own students face. Although he managed to flash a brief smile after Lee's outburst, Naruto still didn't seem half as excited about the mission as he had been just a few moments before.

"Something eating you kid?" he murmured, gaining Naruto's attention as well as his now empty eyes. Naruto just shook his head despondently causing his teammates looked over to the boy with concern in their eyes. Something was definitely wrong, they could see it in Naruto's expression. It was almost as though the boy had suddenly fallen back into the same lifeless shell they had all seen after he ended up in the hospital. Jiraiya looked over to Kakashi only to see him shrug his shoulders, as if to silently confirm his suspicions. They would have to do something to cheer Naruto up, they just didn't know what. Hinata felt her heart sink as she watched Naruto give out a deflated sigh. But it wasn't just nervousness this time. No, this was different. She almost felt a little depressed, like watching Naruto sink into a frown had taken away some of her own life as well. She desperately tried to move her hand to comfort his, but her fears and low self worth eventually got the better of her. Jiraiya just sunk his shoulders at his side in defeat. Maybe once they set off, Naruto might cheer up a bit more. "Alright, lets get moving then." The group then turned their backs on Konoha, walking down the dusty path that lead away from her walls and out into the open countryside.

After traveling some distance, the village walls all but disappeared out of view. The monotonous trees that bustled along the walkway were soon replaced by the vast beauty of the outlying countryside as it came into view. Normally to get to Sunagakure quickly one would cut through the forests that surrounded Konoha and head straight to the fire country's border. But Jiraiya had a feeling that Naruto needed as much time with Gaara as he could possibly gain, not to mention the fact that the forest route was a far more dangerous path to take. Above all of that, none of the present genin really had the time to admire the very country they lived in. It would be a nice change for them to see its natural beauty with their own eyes. As their feet shuffled through the dusty roads that led past the farmlands and small towns, an air of subtle ease began to settle on the travelling shinobi. Kakashi and Jiraiya walked on slightly ahead, reengaging their previous discussion once more. Every now and again, one of them would look back to the rest of the group to check everything was fine, although it was really Naruto who occupied their concerned eyes. Hinata kept up her pace next to Lee, slightly behind Kakashi and Jiraiya, never turning to look at Naruto mostly out of fear and embarrassment. Sasuke was left stuck with Sakura and the girl took the opportunity to chew the Uchiha's ear off. All he could do was sigh in despondence as she continued to idly chat away. Every now and again, he would search around for any nearby cliff faces he could throw himself off to end his misery.

Naruto was the furthest behind, walking at the heels of the sand shinobi they were contracted to protect. His eyes never wondered from the ground, focussing on his navy blue footwear as his feet shuffled through the dusty path beneath him. Gaara began to notice how quiet the boy had become and fell back a few paces to walk beside him. He knew what was bothering the young genin, but he wasn't sure what he could say to help ease his tension. After a few moments of silence he finally began to speak in a low whisper. "You know, I'm really glad they sent you on this mission. There isn't anyone else I'd rather have looking out for my back." Naruto's eyes lifted at the sound of Gaara's words, locking onto his own dark-lined pupils. "You really mean that. I mean it's not exactly like I'm that great a shinobi" Naruto murmured, almost sounding like he was convinced that what he said was true. Gaara's eyes sunk into what looked like disappointment. It wasn't like Naruto to talk about himself like that. "That's the villagers speaking now, not Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened as Gaara spoke. "You're one of the finest shinobi I know. You were able to defeat me in the forests outside of Konoha, even when I called on the Shukaku's power to aid me. When you summoned that giant toad into the battle, it took me completely by surprise. That must have at least been a Kage level jutsu." Naruto choked at Gaara's words, his face flushing red in embarrassment. "It... it was only because I was trying to protect my friends. Normally I just screw up all the time. It's just that when I saw them getting hurt... I... I just couldn't stand by and watch. I had to do something." Gaara gave off a brief smile and placed his hands on Naruto's shoulder. "And that's exactly why I trust you most of all. When you fight to protect your friends, that is when your true power shines through."

Gaara then turned his head forward again, looking down the path before them. "I'd like to think that we're good friends as well. That means you'll show the same strength and power when I'm in trouble doesn't it?" A smile began to etch itself into Naruto's face. Gaara's words struck at his heart with a warming glance that he knew was full of sincerity. He instantly began to cheer up knowing that someone truly depended on him so much. He turned his head forward again, holding it up in renewed confidence as they continued to make their way. He felt the suns warm rays sinking into his face, filling his soul with a new found determination. "Thanks Gaara, I really appreciate it."

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Well, that's the second chapter done. The primary purpose was to establish the characters that would be joining Naruto on this journey. There was little advancement otherwise though.

I've concentrated a bit more on the relationship between Gaara and Naruto at this point, mostly because they can learn allot from one another in this short time they have together.  
Hinata, Jiraiya and Lee felt like natural choices for this journy. I felt they had the most to contribute to Naruto's development other than Sakura, Sasuke and Gaara.  
I thought of the other rookies as well, but these seemed to fit better and I didn't want to many characters to flood my story. (It gets a bit cluttered otherwise)

Hope you enjoyed the second chapter!


	3. Chapter 3 Nightfall

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

This fanfic belongs to me. If you want to use it in any way shape or form, you'll need my permission first.

As you can see, I'm taking a bit more time to get into this story. Naruto needs to undergo a bit more character development before things start to get to out of hand. This was the best opportunity to show how he has reacted to everything that has happened. There are still emotional barriers that Naruto has to address before any more problems fall onto his plate. I also wanted to show the difference in his relationships with those around him and how they affect his way of thinking.

Hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter 3 - Nightfall**

The steady sound of footsteps sounded atop tan open dusty path, leading a group of shinobi ever closer to their destination. The sun's glimmering rays of warmth and comfort slowly vanished as the glowing orb began to disappear over the horizon. They had all had been travelling non-stop for most of the day, barring a few breaks at certain intervals along their route. Of course a protesting Naruto ensured to a much longer lunch break than usual, but no-one seemed to mind. After another short distance of walking through the cooler evening air, Kakashi and Jiraiya slowly came to a stop nearby a small patch of forest close to the side of the road. Everyone else came to a standstill as well, waiting for one of them to speak. "Alright, I think we've covered enough ground for today. We'll set up camp deeper in amongst these trees. Its better to keep of the road at night and the dense forest should keep our campsite out of view of anyone traveling past."

Everyone approved Kakashi's plan, making their way deeper into the forest just off the pathway. They wondered for a short distance before finally entering a small clearing in the woods. Naruto suddenly froze in his tracks, the nightmares of his tortures began to visit him again as he looked at the frighteningly familiar scene. Sakura noticed his body begin to violently quiver in fear and quickly rushed up to his side. She knew what was going through his mind. She also recognized the familiarities of this clearing to the clearing she found Naruto hanging in, almost dead from the wounds of his torture. She grabbed the boys shaking hand and whispered into his ear. "Don't worry, there's no-one here to hurt you. We're all here for you, just... try to relax." Lee quickly began to rush up to the terrified boy's side only to be halted by Sasuke's hand. "It's alright, let Sakura handle this. She knows what she's doing." They all watched in agony as Naruto's trembling began to lessen under Sakura's warming comfort. She put her hand on the boy's back and gently stroked it to ease his nerves. After inhaling a few shaky deep breaths, he shook his head from side to side and reminded himself that he was still on a mission. He began to recite Gaara's words under his breath and pushed back the tears that had suddenly found their way into the corners of his eyes. He needed to be ready to protect the sand genin if anything were to happen. He didn't have time to be consumed by his fears and nightmares.

Once he regained his composure, he looked over to Sakura with grateful eyes and gave a quiet "thank you." After that small scare was over, everyone reluctantly resumed setting up camp. Kakashi made his way out with a worried Sasuke and Lee to fetch firewood, while the rest remained behind to set up the tents. Hinata began to scan the area with her Byakugan, checking around for any dangers. After a nod of approval from the timid girl, everyone eased into their given tasks with a more relaxed tone. After a few minutes had passed Naruto seemed to have forgotten all about his momentary relapse, because the boy was once again his cheery old self. Jiraiya noticed the sudden warmth to Naruto's smile as he and Gaara erected one of the structures they would be sleeping in that night. It seemed as though something had happened between the two to cheer the boy up. He could see it in the playful manner in which Naruto clumsily placed the tent together with little thought or concern. Of course, the entire thing collapsed on their first attempt, gaining a chuckle out of Jiraiya and a shaking head from Gaara. But they eventually succeeded in setting up a decent form that would hold together for the night.

Kakashi and his two genin companions eventually arrived back with their load and began to set up a fire in between the five tents. He also noticed Naruto's returning flare and gave a deep sigh of relief. He only hoped that it was sincere and not just Naruto putting on a show to ease the tension, but the glow in his eyes showed the promise of sincerity. Hinata and Sakura began to cook a small meal atop the flames brimming surface. They had brought along a few supplies, including some ramen that was sure to put a smile on Naruto's face. They all unanimously decided that they would eat the said meal tonight, much to the boy's obvious glee. Sakura pulled out a small tin pot, extending it over the fire with some carefully triangulated branches, just high enough over the flames for the sticks to not get burnt, but not too high to prevent the water from boiling. While they waited for their meal to finish cooking, they all talked about the passing day, reflecting back on the sights and sounds of the fire country they had all witnessed.

"So, how far are we from the wind country?" Sasuke murmured, interrupting the casual talk between them. Jiraiya pulled out a map of their location from his nearby pack. "Well, we've covered a lot more ground today than I would have suspected, but I'd say we still have two more days of traveling before we reach the fire country's border. After that, it should be another day's travel to reach Sunagakure." Naruto seemed to wince as Jiraiya spoke. He was enjoying the time they had all spent together and he didn't want it to end so soon. He only had three days left with the sand shinobi that had become his close friend and he didn't want to waist any time. "So Gaara" Naruto murmured, gaining the boy's attention. "What is Suna like? I mean is it anything like Konoha at all?" Gaara paused to think for a moment before answering.

"Well, I think you'll be surprised to see how different our two villages are. Suna is surrounded by desert mostly. Even the buildings and walls themselves were built out of the sand and bedrock that is prevalent in the area. Unlike Konoha's natural forests and rivers, we tend to have a much dryer and arid climate. It hardly ever rains and sand storms are quite common." Gaara looked up to Naruto's face, expecting to see disappointment at the vague description he had given the boy, but instead Naruto's eyes were filled with complete wonderment and excitement. "Wow! That sounds so awesome. I can't wait to see it. It must be great to live there." Naruto's words took Gaara by surprise. It was obvious that Naruto hadn't ever seen a desert before and he was completely enthralled by the vivid images that ran through his mind.

"Well, I guess it would be nice but..." Gaara's face turned into a frown as he continued. "...but the villagers are pretty much the same as any other place. They still look at things they don't understand with fear and hatred in their eyes. People like us are always treated the same, no matter where we live. At least while I was at your village, no-one knew about the monster buried inside of me and those who did had already accepted you as their friends so it was easier for me to be accepted as well." Naruto's own face fell into a frown as Gaara spoke. The memories of those hateful eyes flashed through his mind. He began to grimace at the thought of their cruel stares and hateful whispers. It was sad knowing that Gaara also experienced the same kind of cruelty as well. He was just glad that the red headed boy didn't have to ever go through the same physical tortures he endured. Gaara noticed Naruto's sudden depression and began to regret his words. "N.. Naruto I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"No it's fine" Naruto cut the boy off. He looked up to Gaara and flashed the largest grin he could muster. "We'll just show those idiots who you really are. Both of us will work hard and prove our worth to everyone around us and once I'm the Hokage and you're the Kazekage, well change everything in this world for the better. There will be no more violence and sadness, no more cruel eyes and hateful whispers. That's a promise and I always keep my promises, because that's my way of the ninja!" A warm smile crept up onto Gaara's face. Naruto's words flooded him with a warmth and assurance he had never experienced before. He also wished to prove his worth to the villagers around him, but the thought of becoming the Kazekage had never crossed his mind before. Maybe... just maybe it was a goal worth working towards. The rest of the shinobi around the campsite shared in their smiles. It was good to see Naruto's words could still invoke so much hope and confidence in those around him, even when he himself was still regaining his own lost hope. Lee was practically in tears after hearing Naruto's speech and even Sasuke's face lit up with a smile. They were all just glad Gai wasn't there as well, or they would have allot of emotional distress on their hands.

"I guess that means it's time for dinner" Sakura chuckled, walking over to the boiling food that was set before them. "You boys always start to get emotional when your stomachs are running on empty." She then carefully removed the pot from over the fire and, with Hinata's help, she dished up a reasonable amount into a few small cups to hand out to those present. Naruto rubbed his hands with glee as a blushing Hinata handed him his own cup. It wasn't as much as he was usually accustomed, but at this point he didn't care. He was just happy to be eating with his friends... his family. The rest of the meal was spent with laughs and memories as they all shared stories between one another. Jiraiya tried in vain to pull off an elaborate late night ghost story, but the only reaction he got was a blurted laugh from Naruto followed by a few smiles from the other present shinobi. Although Naruto had a secret fear of ghosts in reality, the sanin's attempt at making scary face had the young genin floored with tears of laughter. The expression on the hermits features reminded the boy of a similar look he made when catching one of Naruto's thrown balls with his mouth during their Rasengan training.

Even Hinata seemed to ease into the comforting atmosphere as she recalled one of her own embarrassing moments at a formal dinner for the Hyuuga clan. Lets just say that the thought of the Hyuuga elder deflecting a barrage of knocked over tea cups with a kaiten and spreading the mess all over the room was quite funny for everyone to imagine. Of course, it was Hinata who had fallen with the said beverages in hand and the older Hyuuga assumed he was being attacked. The girl gave off a small blush as Naruto laughed at her vivid description of the scene, but she was happy to be able to make him smile. It brought a great deal of comfort and relief to the Hyuuga girl, especially after the pain she had witnessed a few moments earlier. It was a great moment for them all, almost causing them to forget that they were even on a mission. After a few more minutes had passed and a few more laughs were shared, Kakashi got up to smother the fire while everyone made there way to their respective tents. They had already overshot their bedtime and they would need to be well rested for the next days travels.

Kakashi and Jiraiya each had a tent to themselves while everyone else was paired. Hinata and Sakura obviously shared one together with Sasuke and Lee close nearby. Gaara and Naruto shared the last tent, although Gaara never slept at all and chose to sit quietly outside it's entrance. The two containers both sat quietly in each others presence, neither one speaking for what felt like an eternity. It almost seemed as though they were content just to know the other was their. Naruto tried desperately not to fall asleep. He felt guilty about Gaara having to stay up all night because of his curse and he didn't like the idea of leaving him unwatched. They were hired to protect him after all, even though his own skills would be more than a match for most attackers. Sometimes Naruto wondered if they had really been sent to watch over Gaara, or if he had just been given the mission for alternative reasons. "It's alright, you can go to sleep now" Gaara finally murmured, turning to face the bag-eyed boy. "No, I'm not tired. Really, it's fine." Despite Naruto's words, his exhausted face gave away the truth to the sand genin. "Naruto, you'll need to be well rested if you want to successfully complete your mission. You wont be able to protect me effectively if you're fatigued."

Gaara's words seemed to break away at Naruto's defence. It did make sense after all. "Alright, but just wake me up if you need anything." With that Naruto gave off a large yawn as he stretched himself into a comfortable position. After mumbling a sleepy "good night" to the sand shinobi he quickly dosed off without much resistance. The last thing he heard was the muffled whisper that came from the direction of the girls' tent. Gaara looked back on the now sleeping boy behind him, staring intently as Naruto's breathing became a slow, steady rhythm. As he lay their quietly, Gaara began to cringe at the sight of his near motionless form. The memories of Naruto's lifeless body lying on the cold damp floor of the ruins in which they fought came rushing back to Gaara in a sudden flurry of pain and sadness. He quickly turned his head away, staring back at the smouldering remains of the fire they had all just been sitting around.

"You alright kid?" Gaara looked up to see Jiraiya approaching him. The old hermit had obviously noticed his anguished expression. He gave off an unconvincing nod as the sanin sat at his side, but Jiraiya could see the pain etched clearly onto his face. It was even easier to notice since the boy normally didn't normally show any emotions at all. "Look, I know what happened was painful for us all, but Naruto is a strong kid. He should be fine given enough time to heal." Gaara's eyes wondered the ground in front of him as his thoughts wondered. It was lightly illuminated by the bright moon that hovered in the sky above them. "If that is true, then why are you trying so hard to keep him from harm." Jiraiya seemed to wince in shock at the sound of Gaara's words. It seemed the boy had caught on to their odd mannerisms around Naruto. "You're all trying so hard to protect Naruto from the world around him, but the only thing you've accomplished so far is to isolate him completely from the freedom he craves."

Jiraiya gave out a deep sigh before answering. "I guess we have been a bit over protective. Maybe that's why he's been so off lately. I really should try to let go, but... it was difficult to see him in so much pain. When we found him in the ruins, when I thought we had lost him forever, it was like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. I never want to see that happen to Naruto again, but I just don't know how else to handle it." Gaara just listened in surprise as Jiraiya continued to put words to his emotions. It startled him that one of the sanin so freely voiced his own feelings at all, let alone to a complete stranger. Perhaps it was his own closeness to Naruto that the sanin thought he could trust. Whatever the case, the Jiraiya finally seemed reluctantly to acknowledge his own fault in the matter and slowly made his way back to his tent. Before reaching it's entrance, he turned back to Gaara and spoke a few last words. "You seem to understand Naruto more than most people. He really looks up to you. Thanks for everything you've done for him." Gaara gave of a nod as Jiraiya disappeared into his tent. Perhaps Naruto wasn't the only one who needed healing after all. Gaarra knew that the sanin would do whatever it took to see his pupil live his dreams, no matter how hard it seemed to accomplish.

The rest of the night passed away without any incident, while Gaara continued to watch for possible danger. Every now and again he would turn to check on the boy behind him, making sure he was still there. Naruto, however, slept rather calmly, not once shifting in pain from some unknown nightmare. Gaara almost wished that he and Naruto could stay together longer. They were both the same, both tormented by the cruel hatred of those around them, but having Naruto around seemed to make him feel like life wasn't so bad after all. He almost felt more alive in the boy's presence, like just knowing he was their gave Gaara the hope and strength to continue moving forward. Once he arrived back at his village, he would also once again have to endure the cold stares of those that knew what he was, but now he felt like he had the strength to endure. Only his brother, sister and Baki had accepted him as a human being, not just as a weapon gone out of control. At least they were their to greet him with open arms. Gaara took some comfort in that promising thought. He would strive to achieve his newfound dreams, for both Naruto's sake and his own.

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Sasuke and Lee in a tent together. Maybe not the best combination. lol. But I couldn't very well have any of them sharing with Kakashi or (Shudders) Jiraiya.  
As you can see, Naruto's friends need him just as much as he needs them. Although they are helping him through his trials, they are actually unknowingly addressing their own problems and fears at the same time. Its a bond that works both ways, giving as well as receiving the strength shared between them.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Chapter 4 A Race of Confidence

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

Another night at the campfire, another time of learning between friends. These are the moments that will shape Naruto's life and set him on a path of hope and freedom. But how long can the happiness last for a boy whose fate seems to be intertwined with sadness and cruelty. Maybe a bit longer. :)  
Enjoy the chapter!

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**Chapter 4 - A Race of Confidence**

As musical symphony of singing birds and rustling leaves began to sound throughout the trees, the early morning sun slowly crept in through the undergrowth giving birth to a new day. The shuffling of sheets and tired yawns began to reverberate amongst the campsite as the tired shinobi slowly came to life. Gaara watched with a keen interest as each of them went through the strange ritual of stretching and eye drossy rubbing. Naruto, however, didn't shift at the touch of the warm light that shone through his tent. He was so soundly asleep that Gaara began to wonder just how exhausted the genin was. Perhaps it was the emotional stress of his momentary relapse, or maybe he still had unknown injuries to deal with. He was rather stressed lately and the scare he had the night before no-doubt had something to do with it as well.

Kakashi slowly approached the tent that Gaara guarded, stepping up to the sand genin who had never slept a wink. "So, how was he last night? Any more nightmares?" Gaara shook his head in response to the jounin's question. "He hasn't had any nightmares in a while as far as I can tell. I think he's just taking a little strained lately. Although he hides it very well, I think Naruto is still having emotional withdrawals after everything that happened to him." Kakashi sank into a disappointed slouch. "He looked so happy last night. I was sure he was finally starting to pick himself up. Perhaps we've been over-looking a few things." Kakashi turned away from the boy and began to prep for their departure. He quickly turned his head back to Gaara and spoke a few last requests. "Please make sure Naruto's awake and ready to move in the next few minutes." Gaara nodded his head and turned to approach the silently sleeping boy.

"Naruto wake up" he whispered, shaking the boys body to revive him. "We need to get going soon, Kakashi-sama wants to leave in a few minutes." Naruto shuffled for a brief moment under Gaara's touch and then suddenly shot up in a yelp of panic. "Aaaaaahhh!! What's going on?! Who's there?!" The boys face seemed to be filled with terror, as though he were experiencing some kind of nightmare. "Naruto, it's fine. It's just me, there's no-one else around." Naruto's terrified eyes turned to gaze at Gaara. They began to fill with a sudden calmness as he absorbed the scene around him. His body's quivering slowly came to a halt and his breathing steadied once again. "Gaara, I... I thought. It's just... It felt like I was waking up in the hospital all over again." "Don't worry, we're still here. Nothing has happened to you. Kakashi wants us to get ready to leave, do you think you'll be alright?" Naruto gave of a small nod and slowly began to pick himself up from the floor.

Gaara stepped out of the tent again to allow the boy some privacy, only to see the concerned stares from Naruto's companions. They had all heard the cries coming from Naruto and were almost ready to jump into action. Sasuke himself already had four kunai in either hand with his sharingan blazing in his eyes. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. It was just a moment of panic, that's all." Everyone seemed to relax slightly at the sand genin's words. "I think we should take things easier for today" Jiraiya murmured, gaining everyone's attention. "Even if it takes us longer to reach Suna, I don't think we should rush Naruto if we can help it." Everyone seemed to agree with the hermit, although no further words were shared between them. Gaara turned back to enter the tent to see how the said boy was doing. As he made his way inside, he caught a glimpse of Nauto staring intently at his headband, reading the messages inscribed from his friends. The boy suddenly noticed Gaara's presence and stopped what he was doing, tying the protector around his forehead.

"I guess it's good to know you have friends that care for you." Gaara murmured. Naruto looked over at the boy and flashed a warm smile. It was the same thing he had told Naruto when he first arrived at the hospital to watch over him. "I read all of their messages every morning, including yours. When I see the warm words of comfort from my friends, I guess it helps me find the strength and courage I need to get through the rest of the day." A brief moment of silence ensued, with neither Gaara or Naruto saying another word. After a few silent stares were shared between them, Naruto finally stepped outside with his friend, renewing his strength and determination in the promising light of the morning sun. After helping to clear up the rest of the camp, everyone slowly made their way back onto the path to the wind country. This time, Kakashi and Jiraiya walked behind the rest of the group, watching over the genin as they made their way forward. It was disturbingly quiet, almost as though everyone had lost their enthusiasm at the sound of Naruto's cries. Even Lee's flare seemed to have died down considerably.

After walking in complete silence for about an hour, Jiraiya noticed a promising sign on the side of the road that held the possible answer to his problem. "Hmmm, a bathhouse. That could be just what we need right now." Everyone stopped and turned as Jiraiya mumbled his words, their eyes piercing the hermit with their convicting stares. "WHAT!? It's not what your thinking! We could all use a break and we've made excellent time so it's not like it could hurt." Although none of them wanted to openly admit it, they all deeply agreed with the sanin. They could all use the breather and relaxing in the warm waters of the steaming pools would definitely help ease their tension. Naruto seemed to be the most pleased with the prospect of delaying their travels. It just meant he would have more time to spend with his friends. "Alright!" He shouted, pumping his fist into the air with deftly enthusiasm. Naruto suddenly had a fiery gleam in his eyes, witch usually meant he either noticed a ramen shop in the immediate vicinity, or he had another one of his crazy ideas. "Lets all have a race and see who can get there first!"

A sudden aura of enthusiasm erupted throughout the group. Just seeing Naruto's renewed vigor seemed to imbue them all with their own life and determination. Jiraiya gave out a small chuckle, happy to see their flare returning to them. "Alright, you kids go on ahead, it would be unfair for me and Kakashi to join in after all." Kakashi almost seemed to flop in disappointment. His joinin speed would have left them all in the dust, but he understood that it would be an unfair match. Everyone looked over into the horizon where the faint sight of their destination caught their eyes. A small outcropping of the building, that was no-doubt the bathhouse they would be racing to, could be seen jutting out of the trees. It was a fairly long distance to run, but it probably wouldn't take them too much time to get there. "I think Hinata and I will sit this one out as well" Sakura murmured. "Boy's can be so competitive so we'll just leave it to them to do the running." Hinata nodded in silent agreement. Besides, knowing these four genin, she knew it would probably be more amusing to watch anyway.

"Alright, everyone partaking in this race, line up in front of me and get ready to go." At the sound of Kakashi's words, The four boys kneeled in front of the copy ninja, all sharing enthusiastic glances and confident smirks between each other. Even Gaara seemed to be quite excited about the prospect of winning, although he was never one to be praised for his speed. It was almost as though the sand genin had a few surprises up his sleeve. His almost evil grin hardly protested against the thought and it was almost unnerving to look at him. Saskue sported his usual look of unwavering confidence while Lee was practically bursting at the seams with the fires of enthusiasm. His eyes were set ablaze in a torrent of excitement and willpower. "I will definitely not lose! If I do, then I'll swim two-hundred laps when we get to the bathhouse." Naruto just shot off his usual feral grin. He knew Sasuke and Lee were probably still faster than him, but that didn't do anything to dampen his resolve.

"Kakashi stood in front of them, a bit off to their side and waved his hand to start the race. Their was a sudden burst of dust and air as the four of them shot of into the distance, hurtling down the road as quickly as their feet could carry them. Lee was almost instantly ahead, with Sasuke close on his heels. Naruto was a bit further behind while Gaara was left further at the back of the pack. Lee looked back at the rest of them with a large grin on his face. Although Sasuke had sped up considerably since their first match off against each other, he was still not quite as fast as the green clad genin. His face however soon fell into a frown as he felt his legs beginning to slow down, sinking into the ground beneath him. Sasuke and Naruto were both filled equally surprised as they also came to a grinding halt. The very road beneath them had softened and dragged them up to their waists in sand.

"Looks like I've got this one in the bag" Gaara chuckled, as he slowly made his way in between this other three opponents. Naruto gave off an annoyed pout as the sand shinobi shot off an evil grin in his direction. "Hey that's not fair! You're cheating!" Gaara turned his head forward again and continued to make his way to their destination. "I didn't hear anyone say we couldn't use jutsu. As shinobi you must be prepared for any circumstances, no matter how trivial the matter." Sasuke and Lee shot off a quick glance to one another, neither of them were willing to give up just yet. The Uchiha pressed his hands together in concentration and began to increase the chakra flow through his legs. After a few moments he quickly pushed out as much chakra as he could in a single spurt, releasing the sands grip on him just long enough for him to jump free. Only a few seconds later, Lee had already come up with a plan of his own. He closed his eyes in concentration for a brief moment and then shouted loudly into the air. "Initial gate release!"

With those words, an instant surge of power began to flow around the genin and blasted outwards, bursting him out from the ground in a flurry of sand and debris. Once he was free from entrapment he darted down after the other two, his speed now reaching incredibly high levels. "That's going a bit far to win a race" Kakashi murmured, realizing that Lee had just opened one of the eight celestial gates. Luckily the genin didn't take it any further than that as he continued his way down the dusty path. The intrigued spectators could only watch on in suspense and, admittedly, enjoyment as the race continued in the distance. Naruto was still trapped in the sand, desperately trying to figure out a way to free himself from it's grip. He didn't have the same chakra control as Sasuke and he most certainly couldn't open any celestial gates. Eventually frustration began to sink in as his desperate attempts at escaping continued to produce negligible results. Hinata couldn't contain her nervousness as she watched him squirm his legs in a futile effort. She really wanted him to win the race, but it seemed as though all hope of that was lost.

Naruto realized that his struggles were in vain and began to give up on himself. Even if he could free his legs, the others were too far ahead by now to have any hope of catching up. But as he stood their wallowing in his self degradation, a voice suddenly called out to him from the distance. "N... Naruto-kun! You...you can do this! Don't give up!" It was Hinata. The usually timid girl had somehow found the courage to speak up, desperately trying to motivate Naruto to continue. Naruto's eyes shot up, filling with a newfound determination as the Hyuuga's cries echoed throughout the air. "No, I can't give up just yet! Hinata's right! I have to do my best, no matter how hopeless it seems!" Naruto's slammed his hands together to form a single seal. "Shadow clone Jutsu!" As he called out his jutsu, about twenty copies of Naruto appeared around the original and immediately began to work him out of the sand, forming a long chain to pull him from it''s grasp. After a few moments of struggling he was eventually freed from his entrapment. Once he was back on solid ground, Naruto set the second phase of his spontaneously formed plan into action. The clones continued to hold their grip on the boy's arms and began to spin him around on the spot, gaining momentum with each passing cycle. After a few rotations and once he had gained the sufficient acceleration, they released their hold, sling-shooting Naruto down the dusty path in a blurring motion of astonishing speed.

Naruto himself was surprised by the incredibly velocity he had managed to reach. The landscape seemed to flash past him in a blur as he sped towards the other three genin further in front of him. Gaara had fallen a bit behind once again, no longer being able to effectively use his tricks to win, while Lee and Sasuke seemed to struggle for the front position. As they all struggled desperately against one another, a sudden flash of yellow and orange blurred past them, leaving them all wide eyed in amazement. "Was... was that Naruto?" Sasuke gasped watching as the trail of dust formed in the genin's wake. Hinata almost exploded in excitement as she watched Naruto shoot down the road and overtake his surprised competitors. She just about leapt up into the air with joy, only being held back by her predominantly timid nature. However, her face soon fell back into a distressed frown as she suddenly noticed what the boy was currently headed towards. Hinata tried to call out a warning, but it was already to late. Naruto, realizing that he was now ahead in the race, looked back to see his stunned competitors and flashed a massive grin of excitement. It looked like he was going to win after all. After a few fleeting moments of self gratification, the blue eyed boy looked forward again to see how close he was to finishing, but the only thing that met his eyes was a brief flash of brown followed by sudden darkness.

**WHAM!!** Naruto's body slammed firmly into a VERY inconveniently placed tree with a resounding crash, instantly bringing the speeding genin to a grinding halt. His body slowly crumpled to the floor soon afterwards as a flurry of stinging pain began to engulf him. Although the saying 'speed kills' may have been resoundingly true, Naruto would have argued that it was the stopping that really hurt. The other three racing genin immediately halted in their tracks and made their way over to the wavering boy as he tried to pick himself up off the ground, wincing in pain and agony. As he somehow found his way to his feet, Naruto's vision began to blur and the colour fell away from his eyes. "H... how did... that...rrrhhhlll..." The last thing he saw before his world turned dark was his old sensei floored with tears, seemingly laughing at the entire scene, while Hinata's face was filled with only shock and horror. As he fell unconscious to the ground the cries of concern from his friends echoed throughout the darkness that now engulfed him. "Naruto!"

Kakashi instantly appeared in a puff of smoke over the now motionless heap that was Naruto, while his more than surprised friends made their way up to their side. "Well, I guess this means the race is over" the jounin sighed as he picked up the blond haired boy up from the ground. Naruto's body and face was filled with cuts and splinters and it looked as though he suffered a concussion from the blow. "Trust Naruto to go running flat into a tree." Jiraiya, Hinata and Sakura made their way over to where the rest of them stood. The old hermits face took on a far more serious tone as he caught sight of the unconscious Naruto now lying in Kakashi's arms. "Was... it that bad?" Jiraiya gulped as he stepped up to look over the boy. "I didn't realize he was moving so fast. I hope he hasn't sustained any major injuries." "Don't worry, I think he'll be fine." Kakashi replied, easing the hermits fears. "Although I think we should get him to the bathhouse as soon as possible. Perhaps they have a room and bed we can use while he regains consciousness. We'll also need to remove all of these splinters from his body as well."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement before giving out a deep sigh of overwhelming relief. At least Naruto would still be fine... he hoped. He knew Tsunade would make him wish for death if anything had happened to the boy, not that he himself wouldn't have been equally upset. After a few fleeting moments, the group set off to their original destination as quickly as hey could, shaking off the feelings of disbelief at what had just occurred. Kakashi couldn't help but grin under his mask at the thought of what he had just witnessed. Although it wasn't funny to see Naruto get hurt like that, he couldn't help but see the humour in the situation. Besides, he knew the boy would eventually recover. It took allot more than that to keep the Naruto down for too long and his heeling abilities had already long since been restored. The shinobi made their way inside the lone complex of huts and steaming pools that made up the bathhouses. A bit of rest would do them all good, especially after all the excitement of that morning.

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Speed doesn't kill, it's the stopping that kills you. :)  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! More will come soon!


	5. Chapter 5 Bathhouse Blues

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

So, Another chapter comes. Hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 4 - Bathhouse Blues**

The gentle sound of splashing water and relaxing bodies drifted through the air, softly passing through a sun drenched window into a small room. A young boy lies quietly atop a single bed, slowly drifting through his somber dreams. Eyes, filled with both wonder and concern watch as the slow, steady breathing filled their ears with the comforting sound of relief. It had been two hours since Naruto had knocked himself unconscious, crashing into a most inconveniently placed tree and he had since been brought to one of the bathhouse complex rooms where he had been recovering. Hinata, who had the steadiest and most gentle hands of them all, slowly but carefully pulled out the many splinters that now fulled his body. At first she had been reluctant to do so, mostly out of fear and embarrassment, but seeing Naruto in the conditions he was soon convinced her otherwise.

Everyone else watched on in silence as she slowly worked over the injuries, surprised to see such gentle care in both Hinata's hands and her eyes. Clearly Naruto was very important to her, it was obvious for everyone to see. Although Naruto was very kind to her, he was still somewhat oblivious to her attachment to him. After pulling another stray splinter off the side of his cheeks, Naruto finally began to stir, mumbling under his breath. "It's about time he woke up." Sasuke murmured, shifting his gaze to the now shifting Naruto. "That idiot is always getting himself into so much trouble. Doesn't he realize how worried he had us." Kakashi tried to contain his murmured laugh, hiding it under his breath as the Uchiha's words reached his attentive ears. Although he tried to hide it with a harsh undertone, it was very clear that seeing Naruto in this condition deeply concerned the dark haired boy. Gaara and Lee just watched in silent anticipation.

Hinata suddenly froze in her seat, watching on in suspense as the boy in front of her slowly opened his eyes, allowing the morning still morning light to seep through. As the world around him slowly came into focus, filling with colour once again, Naruto noticed the walls around him, as well as the many eyes that stared in his direction. "Waaahhhh!!" Naruto suddenly shot up to a seated position, crying out in a yelp of sudden fear. Hinata jumped out of her seat and stepped back, watching as he gripped his head in his hands, murmuring words that were hardly recognizable under his breath. "Naruto! What's wrong?" Sasuke gulped, running up to the shaking boy's side. "Not again... I... I don't want to be in the hospital again. I don't ... want to get ... hurt any more." Sasuke could only watch as Naruto shook his head from side to side, seemingly caught in a delusional dream. "Naruto, you're alright, this isn't the hospital. No-one is hurting you any more" Sasuke yelped, grabbing the boys shoulders to shake him out of his state. But his words fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to babble incessantly, almost as though the Uchiha weren't even there.

Everyone watched on with a lump in their hearts as the boy squirmed in his bed, tears forming down his cheeks. Sasuke, in a moment of panic, did the only thing he could think of at the time. He quickly pulled Naruto into a hug, squeezing him as tightly as he could. "Naruto, we're here. I told you that we'd never leave your side and I meant it." Naruto's murmurs and sobs slowly dissipated as the boy seemingly came back to reality. Slowly raising his head up, he suddenly noticed whose arms had embraced him. "S... Sasuke?' Sasuke pulled away from Naruto at the sound of his words, looking into the blue eyes that stared back at him. "W... where... are we?" "You idiot" Sasuke grumbled. "We're at the bathhouses where else? Or did that get knocked out of your memory when you hit the tree!?" Naruto's eyes squinted in confusion. "Tree? What tree?" Then it all suddenly came rushing back to him. The morning at the camp, their race towards the bathhouse and then the sudden pain and darkness.

Sasuke stood from the bed, releasing Naruto from his grip and looked around to see the relieved, as well as surprised faces staring his way. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he scowled, brushing off their somewhat disturbing glances. "Ugh, whatever, I'm going down to the baths. We might as well do what we came here for after all." As Sasuke walked out of the room, shrugging his shoulders in despondence, his companions' eyes continued to follow him. Did they really see what just happened? Was Sasuke... hugging Naruto? The Uchiha somehow knew he would probably never live this down. "Hey! So what's going on exactly?" Everyone turned back to Naruto, who looked just as confused as ever. Jiraiya gave off a small chuckle at the priceless expression on his face. "Well, after your little wipeout, we brought you here to recover" he began. "Hinata over here spent just over an hour taking all the splinters out of your body and you think that sounds bad, you should have seen the tree." Hinata could only blush as Naruto's gaze shifted to her.

"Uh... thanks Hinata. I really appreciate it" he murmured, still scratching the back of his head in confusion. "Alright everyone, I think Naruto will be fine now. Get your costumes on and go relax a little." At the last of the Sanin's words everyone, including Kakashi, stepped out of the room, leaving only Jiraiya and Naruto behind. The hermit looked over to his blond student who was still watching his friends disappear from view. Once they were alone, he began to clear his throat to gain the boys attention. Once he had his gaze, he began to speak again. "Look Naruto, the way I see it, there are obviously still some issues that you have to come to terms with, that much is certain after seeing what just happened. Although I was hopeful that the worst was behind us, it seems that you're doing a good job of hiding your true emotions from everyone." Naruto's eyes shifted down to the blanket that covered him, wandering atop its wavering surface. "I... It's just that..." Tears began to form in the eyes of the blond haired genin once again as he tried to find words to express himself.

Jiraiya walked up the side of the bed and sat next to his sobbing student. He placed his arm on the boy's shoulder, squeezing it gently to help relieve his quivering. He knew Naruto didn't like to see other people get hurt, even if it meant allowing himself to hurt without them knowing about it. "Naruto, if there was something wrong you should have told us. You know we're here for you don't you? If you're unhappy, then we'll all find a way to make things better." Naruto lifted his eyes to meet his sensei's. They were filled with both guilt and shame. He didn't like hiding things from those that were precious to him and he didn't like secrets, but he also didn't know how else to handle things.

"It's... it's not that I'm unhappy, really. In fact, ever since everyone started to accept me for who I was, I've been happier than ever before." "So then what's going on?" Jiraiya sighed, realizing that he still wasn't getting the answer he wanted. Naruto allowed a few more sobs to hold sway over him before finally answering. "When I was small, I never knew what it felt like to be loved, to have a family that comforted and protected me. The only thing I received was the cruel stares and tortures of those that hated me. Now that I finally have friends, ones who accept me for everything that I am... well now it just feels like I have even more to lose. Every night that I go to sleep, I'm always terrified that I'm going to wake up alone and abandoned again. I just want to stay in their comfort and protection. I don't want to ever endure the pain of losing that love again." Naruto paused for a brief second, allowing a few more sobs and tears while Jiraiya waited, listening.

When no more words were shared, Jiraiya pulled the Naruto into a hug. Although it was unusual for him to indulge in such comforting moments, he began to realize the importance of it ever since the boy had cried in his arms on his birthday. It was a way to let out all of the pain and fears he had been bottling up inside. After sitting there for a few moments, the sanin finally began to respond. "It's not a weakness to want someone's love or protection, nor is it a weakness to be afraid or uncertain. The only thing we can do is have faith and keep moving forward. We must grow strong to protect those around us but at the same time, we must also allow ourselves to be protected by as well." Naruto pulled away from Jiraiya and looked into his eyes again. "You mean... to protect those who are precious to us." he sobbed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Yes that's right. You are also precious to all of us. Don't ever forget why your friends did what they did. The only thing you can do to honor their sacrifice is to allow yourself to be happy again."

Naruto gave of a small nod. He knew how important his friends were to him and, now it seemed, how important he was to them. "Good, now I think it's about time you enjoyed yourself as well. Go and join your friends down stairs, I'm sure they're waiting for you." Naruto allowed a smile to form on his face and this time it was definitely more genuine. It was quite surprising how just a few words shared with someone who cared for you could lift so many troubles off your heart. Naruto hopped out of his bed and walked out the door, drying the tears from his face. As he made his way out into the hallway, he took a look back to see his smiling sensei staring back at him. He returned with a grin of his own and then made his way out of sight. As soon as he was gone, Jiraiya gave out a long due sigh, standing to his feet once again. "So I take it that went well?"

Jiraiya looked over to the doorway to see Kakashi puff into view. "You were listening the whole time weren't you?" Kakashi gave off what looked like a smile under his mask. "I couldn't very well let you do all the talking without at knowing what was going on." Jiraiya just shrugged his shoulders. "I guess he is your student as well, so it's only fair. Anyway, he should be better now, but I'm still going to keep an eye on him just in case. Now if you don't mind, I have some research to do for my next novel." The hermit then made his way out the door as well, snickering under his breath as he walked past Kakashi. He knew what was coming. "Um..." the jounin stammered before rushing out after him. "I think... I'll join you over there."

Naruto opened the door to exit the change rooms, stepping out adorning a green and yellow swimming costume. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep everyone else waiting then." He then ran down the hallway and over to the bath pools, grinning with excitement and a bit of relief as well. The talk with Jiraiya had really worked miracles once again. Sometimes the boy would wonder if he was really the same Ero-senin that he had come to know. It was almost as though he was more, passionate about Naruto's wellbeing. Just as the light of the exit came into view, Hinata suddenly appeared in front of him, walking into the hallway. "Woah!!"

The boy tried desperately to stop himself from crashing, but the slippery wet floors dashed his attempts. He quickly fell onto his rear end and slid under a surprised Hinata, scooping the girl off her feet as they both skid out into the sunlight. After finally coming to a stop Naruto looked up to see the shocked face looking back at him. "Oh... hehehe... Sorry Hinata, I didn't see you coming..." It was then that Naruto noticed that the girl on top of him was wearing a dark blue two-piece bathing suit. They both just lay there on the floor, Hinata on top of Naruto, frozen in complete shock and panic. The timid girls face began to turn a brighter red than humanly thought possible as the reality of what was happening hit her like a steal baseball bat.

"N... Naruto!?" Once the sudden shock had melted away, the girl flew to her feet and turned away to hide her face. "I... I... I" Naruto picked himself up of the floor and scratched the back of his head while his own face flushed with a sudden warming sensation. "Hey, are you two going to stand there forever or are you actually going to kiss each other?!" Both genin quickly shot their gaze around to see Sakura smiling and waving at them. Sasuke, Lee and Gaara were also watching with large smirks on their faces as well. Even Gaara seemed to be grinning, although with him it was always hard to tell. They were all in their bathing suits, making there way over to the hot pools. Naruto's face began to match Hinata's in colour, if it were even possible. "I.. she... we... It's not what you think!" Naruto murmured, his head shooting in between Hinata and his friends. The Hyuuga just fainted on the spot, mumbling some incomprehensible words as she fell to the floor.

A few minutes after Hinata had woken up, and some due teasing from his friends, Naruto and the other genin made their way over to the nearest pool. Lee immediately jumped in first, swimming up and down it's length as fast as he could. Sasuke and Sakura both stepped in slowly afterwards, watching as the crazy genin continued to splash his way through the water. "What are you doing?" Sasuke murmured, gaining the boy's attention. Lee popped his head out of the water to answer. Well, I said if I lost the race I would swim two hundred laps in the pools. So... that's what I'm doing." Sasuke just gave out a deflated sigh. "Well technically, none of us completed the race, so you didn't really lose." "Oh. Okay. Well then I'll just do it as a workout" Lee smiled before continuing his laps. The rest just rolled their eyes in disbelief.

Gaara placed his gourd in a nearby corner and then proceeded to make his way to enter the steaming pool. His face seemed to fall into a relaxed expression as his body dipped below the surface of the water, leaving only his head exposed. Hinata just sat at the side of the bath, dipping her feet inside and swirling the water around in fascination. It was so calm, so relaxing, that is until a large yell wounded out from behind them. "DIVE BOMB!!" Everyone looked up to see Naruto flying through the air over the water's surface. Gaara looked over his head just in time to see the boy curl up into a ball before his impact. As he hit the water's surface, a fairly large splash was formed in his wake. "Well, at least we know where all the ramen goes to." Sasuke sighed as the wave washed over his despondent expression.

As the water made it's way over towards Gaara's position, a sudden spurt of sand made it's way from his gourd to cover him in defence. The result of water mixing with sand, of course, was a slap of mud hitting the sand genin in the face, spreading all over his eyes and running up his nose. Naruto surfaced from the water, only to be met with the muddy, expressionless stare of his friend. "He he he! Sorry Gaara" he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "What were you thinking Naruto!! You could have killed yourself! This water's too shallow to just go jumping around like that!" Naruto just sunk his head under the water to muffle out Sakura's yelling. If he ever had a mother, he was sure she would be telling him something similar to that. He then looked over to his side, only to see Lee grinning in his direction, before shooting into a nice guy pose. It was almost as if the genin was quietly congratulating him for his youthful actions, without willingly drawing on Sakura's wrath.

After the excitement had calmed down, the six genin allowed themselves to soak in the steaming water, blissfully enjoying the relaxation it afforded them. The only interruption to their peaceful days was the sudden high pitched screams of what sounded like a mob of women, before the sounds of fists pummeling into flesh and bone echoed throughout the compound. "I wonder what's going on over there?" Sakura gulped, looking over to the direction of the ruckus. Naruto just swam onto his back, grinning at the thought of what was happening. "Oh, it's probably just Jiraiya and Kakashi doing some research." Everyone looked over in confusion to the snickering blond genin as he waded happily in his thoughts. "What research?"

After a few hours had passed, they all made their way out of the pools and back to the change rooms, Hinata and Sakura obviously going to a separate one from the rest of the boys. After finally getting dressed and re-tying his headband on, Naruto suddenly noticed something was missing. He hadn't realized it until now, but he hadn't seen his orange jacket all day. "Hey, what happened to my jacket?" he mumbled, turning to Sasuke with a look of confusion on his face. "Oh that. Well, it was pretty badly damaged in your epic battle against mother nature so we had to throw it away." Naruto's eye began to twitch spontaneously. "You what!?" "Don't worry, we'll get another one once we return to Konoha." "Nani!?" The four boys then made there way out of the change rooms and met up with Sakura and Hinata on there way out. The Hyuuga was once again blushing as Naruto came into view.

"I wonder where Kakashi and Ero-senin are" Naruto mumbled walking down the hallway with his hands behind his head. Just then, the ground began to rumble violently under their feet, shaking the hallway with an uneasy tremor. "What? Is this... an earthquake?" Sakura gulped, latching onto the side of the wall for support. They all looked back in surprise, only to see Kakashi and Jiraiya running in a terrified panic down the hallway. "Okay, it's time to go now!" the hermit yelled, shooting past the baffled genin. But their confusion was soon abated when a stampeding army of angry women flowed down the hallway in a vigorous pursuit. "Get back here you perverts. You'll regret the day you messed with us!"

"Does this have something to do with the research?" Gaara sighed, shaking his head from side to side. "No, I think it's training! Yes that's right, it's definitely training!" Lee responded, his eyes flaring up in excitement. "The fires of youth and vigor burn brightly in their souls. Surely Kakashi is indeed a worthy rival to Gai-sensei." Naruto proceeded to run up after the trail of dust and debris, followed closely by his companions. Someone would have to resuscitate the two after they were beaten within an inch of their lives. Besides, despite their odd (and somewhat perverted) natures, they were still his precious people, no matter how flawed they were.

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Well, I pushed to get this one out, but I still managed.  
Hope you enjoyed and please review!


	6. Chapter 6 The Embers of Love

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

This fanfic belongs to me. If you want to use it in any way shape or form, you'll need my permission first.

This is the calm before the storm. A nightmare waits in hiding across the horizon, ready to ensnare it's victim in a new darkness. In his time with his friends, Naruto will need to gather what strength he can if he is to endure the coming shadow.

Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

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**Chapter 6 - The Embers of Love**

To most in Konoha, Kakashi Hatake would easily be considered one of the most gifted shinobi to be known throughout the world. In fact rumors of the infamous copy ninja have struck both fear and awe in anyone who heard about his numerous exploits. These stories were not without their merits of course, because Kakashi was indeed worth every praise and fear. Right now, as he and a vibrant team of some of the most interesting (to say the least) ninja on the face of the planet made their way to Suna, something was bothering the jounin. He couldn't help but feel that something was definitely off about their trip and it wasn't the near dead sanin he was supporting over his shoulders, although that was pretty bad in itself. As Kakashi looked around through his barely open and severely bruised eye, his instincts and intuition that he had gained over the years were telling him that their journey had been far to quiet up to this point. Sure, he knew that they probably wouldn't run into any other enemy ninja, but they hadn't even been confronted by any of the bandits that usually plagued the dusty secluded path they were all traveling on.

It was almost felt... unnatural, although he could hardly blame anyone for not wanting to confront a group consisting of such... interesting members. The great copy ninja, one of the legendary sanin, members of two of Konoha's most prestigious clans and two potentially deadly Jinchuuriki made a party that was hardly approachable. In fact, Lee and Sakura were the most relatively normal shinobi out of the lot of them, if you could really call them that. Still, he couldn't help but feel that this was just the calm before a violent storm. Something terrible was coming, he could feel it in his gut and his instincts were usually on the mark. But before Kakashi's mind could wonder on it any further a loud voice called out back to him, snapping him from his troubling thoughts. "Hey! Are you two gonna speed up or what? You're slowing us all down!" Kakashi gave out an exhausted and painful sigh,propping up Jiraiya to keep him from hitting the floor. The blond haired genin staring back at them glared at the two with an annoyed scowl, obviously frustrated by their diminishing pace. Although he wanted the trip to last as long as possible, he was still a very impatient boy when it came to others holding him back.

"Give us a break will you? In case you hadn't noticed, we're not exactly brimming with health at the moment" Kakashi sighed, desperately trying to push back the headache that was consuming his barely palpable mind. Jiraiya also mumbled some incoherent words, seemingly delusional from the numerous blows to his head. The words 'women' and 'evil' somehow managed to escape his mouth in a reasonably tangible form. "Who's fault is that I wonder!" Naruto growled back, earning another defeated sigh from his jounin sensei. "Yea, you're lucky we arrived in time to save your necks" Sasuke smirked, joining in on the torture. "It took us half an hour of lying just to convince those women that the two of you were homosexual and it's a good thing they eventually believed us too." Kakashi tried to push back the painful embarrassment of it all, hiding his shame behind his mask. He would never live any of this down if Naruto had any part in the matter, but his hopes lifted when the blond haired genin opened his mouth once again. "Um, Sasuke... what's a homosexual?"... Yes!! The gods were good after all!!

Of course, the only answer the poor boy received was a fist over the head from Sakura and a furious blush from Hinata. "Hey! What did I say?!" Gaara just thanked his lucky stars that no one could hit him over the head like that. Who knows how mentally unstable he would have been by now. Before that line of thought could go on any longer, their green clad companion, who had been unusually quiet for a while now, began tospeak."So Naruto-kun, how are you feeling? Do you still have any more injuries hindering you?" Lee murmured, swiftly changing the subject. Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion, trying todecipher the reason for Lee's sudden interest in his health. He then remembered the genin's own traumatic ordeal with his operation and began to understand his concern. "Well, I'm perfectly fine now. Apparently I heal pretty quickly, so now I'm just about as good as new!" Naruto beamed, flashing the biggest grin he could muster. His bubbling expression seemed to put Lee at ease, although Naruto hadn't notice the older boy's tension until it actually fell away from his face.

"What about you. Any problems after your operation?" Lee looked up with a renewed smile on his face. "Not too many. Although it was a bit difficult for me at first, I think I'm finally through the worst of the pain. It still comes back at me every now and again, but it's much better than it used to be." Lee remained silent for a brief moment, almost as though he were contemplating his next words. He remembered the fears and emotions he felt at the time. The thought of never being able to remain an active ninja still haunted his dreams. If it weren't for Gai, he may have never found the hope to continue on with his operation. "It... it must be great to heal so quickly like you do, never having to worry about being injured or crippled for the rest of your life. What I wouldn't do for that kind of assurance."

Naruto's face seemed to drop at Lee's words, much to the dismay of the green clad genin. "You wouldn't want it" Naruto mumbled, allowing his eyes to fall to the ground. "Although it's great at times, it's also a curse. It just gives everyone a chance to hurt you even more, over and over again." Everyone grew quiet after Naruto's spoke, but the genin shot back into a big grin soon afterwards. "And it also makes youlazy"he continued. "It's easier to drop your guard when you know you can heal allot of damage, but that can also get you killed even quicker." Lee seemed to cheer up at Naruto's statement. Although the blond haired boy neverallowedhis apparent regeneration to affect his combat abilities, he didn't want Lee to envy what he thought was just another curse of the nine-tailed fox. "So! Where are we camping tonight?!" he smiled, noticing the diminishing sun falling across the horizon.

Kakashi's semi functioning eye scanned the area for any possible locations for them to sleep for the night, but it was hardly useful in the failing light. "What about over there, it looks like an inn. They might have rooms available for the night" Sasuke grumbled, catching sight of the distant building. Kakashi gave off another sigh of relief. That was the second blessing in one evening, the first being Naruto's innocent cluelessness. Sleeping on the bumpy forest floor was definitely a no go right now and the thought of falling into a warm soft bed definitely sounded promising after today. Once they all agreed, without any protests, they made their way over to the inviting structure andapproachedthe entrance. After a few knocks on the door, Sakura pushed it open, staring into the warmly lit room that was revealed inside. "Ooh! I have some new customers!" a young women yelped, jumping up from behind a counter that stood further inside. "Please come in, I haven't had any guests in a while."

The genin proceeded inside at the woman's invitation, followed shortly by their two seniors. Kakashi and Jiraiya both looked worse for wear, which only prompted the kind lady into a frown. "What happened? Were you attacked by bandits?" she gulped, looking over the bruises that covered their bodies. "Oh no, they were just..." Sakura quickly covered Naruto's mouth before he could say anything more. Sometimes the boy was too talkative for his own good. After she dragged the struggling genin to the side, muffling his cries, Kakashi looked over to the two with a sigh and then back up to their host. "Don't worry, it was just one of our rigorous training exercises" the joinin smiled, reassuring the woman with his seemingly cheery disposition. "Oh yes, where are my manners. My name is Harumi, the owner of this inn. Well, at least after my father gave it up to me" the woman smiled, bowing down in courtesy. "So" she continued. "Will you all be staying here for the night?"

After settling down in front of a small log fire, everyone began to relax in the comfort of its warm radiance. Naruto's playful nature got the better of him as he slowly nudged the burning wood with a small stick he had found on the floor. Gaara watched on with fascination as the blond boy's eyes seemed to go into a blank stare, almost lost in the beauty of the flickering flames. "You're going to burn yourself you know" Sakura sighed, jarring Naruto out of his trance. "Hey, what do you think I am? I'm not stupid!" Naruto snapped back, shooting around to glare at the pink haired kunoichi. Sakura pulled back in surprise, she had never seen the boy react like that. His eyes seemed to fill with a hint of both anger and frustration. Naruto suddenly realized his harshness and his face fell back into a more somber expression. "Sorry... I didn't mean to..." It's alright Naruto" Sakura cut him off. "We're all a little bit edgy that's all. I... didn't mean to make you feel stupid." Gaara watched on with a sigh as Naruto lowered his head again and then turned back to the flames.

Kakashi and Jiraiya were both recovering from their wounds upstairs and, luckily for the copy ninja, the hermit was finally coming out of his delusional state of mind. After going through all that painful trouble, the jounin ultimately reached the conclusion that reading the toad sage's books was a much safer pursuit. After all, books don't beat their viewers into a bloody pulp, unless of course they were controlled by some crazy jutsu. Back downstairs, Lee dropped straight into doing pushups right in the middle of the room near the fireplace, much to the surprise and disbelief of the other present shinobi. Didn't that kid ever take a break? Sasuke and Sakura sat on a sofa next to each other and, much to the Uchiha's discontent, Sakura once again proceeded to chew of his ear, pausing only to admire the dark haired boy. Hinata on the other hand, had eyes that were just as fixated as Naruto's. Only it wasn't the glowing fire that had captured her gaze, but rather the blond boy sitting in front of it. She had always liked Naruto, but was never confident enough to honor her feelings. Sometimes the timid Hyuuga silently cursed herself for her weakness and her unwillingness to act on her emotions. She just wished she were more like Sakura. That girl never seemed to have a problem with telling someone exactly how she felt about them, or publicly fighting for their attention.

Hinata just resigned to watching as Naruto went about his business. For her, it was just enough to observe his body in motion. Seeing him sleep so calmly at the bathhouse was comforting in a strange kind of way. The way his gentle whiskered face looked so relaxed and peaceful in the warm sunlight filled her with a soothing comfort. She wished she could just sit there watching him every time he slept, seeing him breath gently as his dreams swept him to unknown worlds. As her mind became lost in thought, Harumi suddenly walked into the room carrying a tray filled with steaming mugs. "Dinner time everyone!" At the sound of her words, Naruto shot around to face the cheerful woman, his face lighting up with glee at the prospect of food. Harumi couldn't help but smile at the bright expression on his face and proceeded to hand out the warm cups of soup to her guests. She really enjoyed the company of others and would often go out of her way to make her visitors feel at home. She was also very fond of children and seeing Naruto's bright eyes and excitement had her bubbling inside. Naruto stood from the floor as he was handed his serving. After grinning a cheery "thank you" he walked over to the nearby sofa, sitting next to the white eyed Hyuuga.

"Ahhh!! just what the med-nin ordered" he sighed, taking a careful sip from the warm tasty broth. Hinata sank down into the chair, blushing in the presence of the boy next to her. Sakura immediately noticed the development and nudged Sasuke in the side, gaining his attention. The Uchiha looked up to share her view, before smirking in understanding. "Ehem! Well I think Sakura and I should go to check on Kakashi and Jiraiya." Sasuke coughed, signalling to the other genin in the room. Gaara immediately knew what was going on while Lee on the other hand was completely oblivious as usual. "I've got to check the strap around my gourd. I think it's coming loose again." With that Sakura, Gaara and Sasuke made their way out of the room. Just before they were out of view, the Uchiha stuck his head back inside and 'coughed' again. "EHEM!!" He finally managed to get Lee's attention, causing the boy to look up over to a now desperately confused Naruto and a furiously blushing Hinata.

"O... oh yes!" He yelped, jumping to his feat. "I… I... I've gotta do warm-ups outside. See you two later!" With that, Naruto watched in complete bewilderment as the genin made his way out the room, leaving only him and Hinata behind. As he turned out of the doorway, he flashed one last nice guy pose back at Naruto and then disappeared. "O... okay... see you guys later" Naruto muttered, before turning back to face the girl beside him. "I wonder what's up with them. They're acting really strange." Hinata didn't answer, she was too afraid to even speak. She was now alone in the room with only Naruto at her side. It was both terrifying and inspiring at the same time, but mostly terrifying. There was a long moment of silence between them, neither one saying a word to one another for what seemed like an eternity, only stirring to sip at the warm cups of soup in their hands. After a few more uncomfortable moments had passed, Naruto finally broke the silence. "So... it... was nice at the bathhouse today wasn't it?" the boy murmured, taking another uncomfortable gulp from the tasty liquid. "Y… yes it was." Hinata stuttered in response. There was another brief moment of silence between them until Naruto finally spoke again.

"Hinata... I'm sorry about what happened today. You know, when I crashed into you in front of everyone. I guess all I do is mess up all the time." A smile managed to etch itself onto the Hyuuga's lips, despite the flushed cheeks that now radiated her obvious embarrassment. "It's... it's alright Naruto-kun. I really... I really had fun with you today." Naruto grinned with a sigh of relief. He was worried he had upset the girl, but it seemed she was still alright. "Good, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I did too" he responded, looking at the blushing girl beside him. Then something happened that the boy didn't expect. In either a moment of sudden bravery, or just plain emotional turmoil, Hinata shifted over to Naruto and snuggled up against his side. Naruto raised his arm where she pushed up against him, looking down in surprise as the girls head rested firmly on his chest.

After the initial shock of what was happening brushed over him, he let his arm relax, gently lowering it around the girl's shoulders while his face flushed red. The two of them just sat there quietly, neither one knowing what to say to one another, or what these knew emotions where swelling up inside of them. All they knew was that it was warm and comforting, something they neither of them wanted to let go of. Naruto allowed his own head to shift over sideways, resting on the arm that wrapped gently around the the girl. The warm light of the fire brushed gently over their faces, slowly lulling them into the comforting embrace of their dreams. Quietly peering from the doorway, his friends watched on with smiles etched into their faces. "Looks like those two are finally getting into the picture" Sakura sighed, relieved that her plan had born some fruit. "I think we should go to bed and leave them in peace." With that, they all made their way upstairs and into the rooms they would be sleeping in for the night.

After about another hour had past, the tired shinobi eventually succumbed to the relentless call of their exhaustion, except for Gaara who simply sat on his bed waiting for the next day to arrive. Harumi quietly made her rounds around the structure, checking on the different rooms in which her quests stayed, ensuring everything was in order. After patrolling around for a few moments she suddenly realized there were two people missing from her count. "Hmmm, I'm sure there were seven of them. I wonder where the loud blond and the dark haired girl are?" Searching around for her two missing guests, Harumi made her was down stairs, checking the living area where the once brimming fire was now just the smoldering remains of glowing embers. There on the sofa, two young kids slept quietly in each other's company, neither one shifting an inch from their original position, almost as though they were aware of the other's presence.

The young inn owner smiled at the sight before her and fetched a nearby blanket to protect them from the icy chill. As she gently covered the two, careful not to wake them up, Harumi looked on their glowing faces as they both gently breathed in the cool night air. They looked so peaceful in each other's company, like a brother and sister relishing in the safety of one another's arms. Harumi always did want to settle down and have children of her own and seeing these two sleeping so innocently only reinforced her desire even further. It was a good thing she never found out that Naruto was an orphan, or the young genin may have never been able to leave without a struggle on her part. Harumi watched as they both shifted slightly before making her way back up stairs and leaving them to their dreams.

--

As you can see, this new story has some NaruHina moments in it. I am still not sure how far I'm going to take their relationship yet, but I can tell you that Hinata will play a big part in the upcoming events.  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please Review! (Pretty please!) O.O


	7. Chapter 7 A Hidden Threat

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

Naruto has to deal with all of his new found emotions as well as the lurking shadow that seems to follow his path. A new threat is revealed to the travelling shinobi, one that will test their resolve as well as the ties that bond them together.

Hope you enjoy the next chapter. :)

--

**Chapter 7 - A Hidden Threat**

The warm comforting touch of the morning sunlight gently caressed the faces of two innocently sleeping youngster as they both snuggled up in each others company. Neither one had woken up yet, despite the many eyes that now filled the room around them. "Awe! They're so cute together!" Sakura yelped, placing her hands together with glee at the sight of her sleeping teammates. Sasuke just gave of a smirk all his own. He would never let Naruto live this one down. He knew how self conscious the boy actually was when it came to things like this and the Uchiha would take advantage of that newly exposed weakness. "The damned kid's lucky" Jiraiya mumbled with discontent. "He doesn't even try and he's already got women falling into his lap. Why is the world so unfair?" Kakashi moved over to the sanin and nudged him in the side, sporting what looked like a smirk under his mask. "Looks like someone's a little jealous, perhaps Naruto should start writing your books instead seeing as how he's a natural and all."

Jiraiya only managed an annoyed pout, desperately trying to ignore what he had just heard. In the mean time, over in the kitchen, Harumi was still busy preparing their early morning breakfast. The tantalizing smells of her exceptionally well cooked meal quickly filled out the entire building with their enticing promise of food. Of course, Naruto's nose was especially drawn to such promises and he soon began to stir in it's alluring embrace. The surrounding shinobi watched on with gleeful anticipation as his eyes slowly began to open, allowing the world around him to blur into existence and revealing the locked gazes of his friends and companions. "What's... everyone staring at" Naruto yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He tried to pic himself up from the couch when he suddenly realized that Hinata was still resting on his chest. The boy looked down at the sleeping form bellow and then back up to the smirking faces around him.

"Eh!? No... no it's not what you think! We were just... um... well she just... err." Naruto's face began to flush a bright red as the words fell away from his mouth, easily competing with his Hyuuga companion's own embarrassed glow. "Well well well, looks like someone's in love" Sasuke snickered, enjoying the prospect of teasing the boy. His blue-eyed victim sheepishly looked down to the floor, avoiding the discomforting stares that pierced into him. The same Naruto that had always been so confident and brash, the one who had even stood up to a sanin and never backed down, now found himself caught in an unusually uncomfortable situation. He had never been so self conscious or unsure in his entire life. Lee's enthusiastically passionate nice guy pose didn't help the matter any further, but the scariest expression was that of Gaara's. To see a normally emotionless face to take on a bigger grin than one would think possible for it's size was definitely going to give Naruto nightmares for many days to come. It was definitely unnerving for him, but the situation took on an even bigger turn for the worse when the timid girl snuggled up against him began to awaken from the ruckus.

Hinata's shifting form quickly alerted Naruto, who in turn looked down to see the girl's eyes slowly inching open. At first, Hinata was completely oblivious as to what was going on around her, slowly yawning and stretching as though it were just another day. "Um... hey Hinata... I mean... er good morning." Hinata flinched at the sound of Naruto's voice, slowly looking up to see the uncomfortable grin on his still blushing face. Then she noticed the many eyes filling the room around her, as well as the muffled laughs of her teammates. As soon as she realized what was going on, the girls face began to glow furiously, easily trumping Naruto's own blush with a record breaking shade of red that would have embarrassed a lobster. Of course it didn't take long before the Hyuuga promptly passed out again, much to everyone's delighted amusement and Naruto's obvious concern.

"Breakfast time!" Everyone gathered around the dining room table as Harumi cheerfully handed out each person's respective plate of food. Hinata had since been revived up from her comatose state and was now sitting quietly next to the blond haired boy she admired, prodding her fingers together in thought. Naruto was just as equally silent, even as he was handed his meal. The boy could hardly even manage a raspy "thank you" to their host, but somehow it still came out. He couldn't help but notice the small grins and whispers of everyone around him, everyone except for Jiraiya that is, who's gaze was already preoccupied. The now recovering sanin would momentarily wink at their caretaker as she looked over in his direction, much to the discomfort of a nearby Kakashi. He thought the sanin would have learned by now the dangers of a woman's wrath especially after their most recent mob encounter. Fortunately for both of them, the young woman simply smiled in response, completely oblivious to his wasted charms. Her attention, like everyone else that wasn't a complete pervert, was solely focussed on the two blushing genin that sat quietly next to one another, slowly chewing their food in obvious discomfort.

After everyone had finally finished their breakfast, they gathered their belongings and proceeded to share heartfelt good-byes. Naruto took a brief moment to read through the messages on his headband, filling himself up with renewed strength for the days travels. Harumi waved them all off from the entrance to the inn as the group of misfit shinobi walked down the dusty road, sending one last wink at Naruto causing him to blush in embarrassment. Jiraiya, however, was not impressed by this. How could a kid like Naruto garner more attention than one of the legndary sanin, it just wasn't fair. "Bye! Don't forget to visit again! You're always welcome back here any time you like!" Once the inn and a still yelling Harumi were out of view, everyone refocused their attention on the mission at hand. It was now day three into their long winded journey and they would no doubt be reaching the fire country's border by the end of the day if the pace kept up.

--

The monotonous sound of shuffling feet soon became a grating irritation as seconds turned to minutes an minutes turned to hours. As the scorching sun sailed briskly across the endless blue sky above them, the signs of fatigue and exhaustion began to show on the faces of the weary shinobi. This was the hottest day on their journey so far, mostly because there wasn't a single cloud to shade them from the sun's assault. Naruto took his headband off to wipe his brow from the sweat that formed around it. He was actually starting to appreciate the fact that he didn't have his jacket on him any more. Everyone else seemed to have there own of with dealing with the impossible heat. From fanning themselves with any manner of item they could muster, to splashing water over their heads. The most ingenious and unfair of them all was Gaara's. Naruto cursed under his breath watching the sand from the said boy's gourd covering him in a gentle shady umbrella. Some people were just too lucky, then again he guessed it was only fair considering the boy could never sleep.

Naruto began to fall behind the pack once again as his thoughts began wonder on the previous night. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the new feelings that had formed inside of him. It was something that he had never experienced beforein his entire life. Was this what boys felt like when they were around girls they really liked? He had often watched Jiraiya and his silly antics around women, but he had never seen the toad sage behaving in a manner that suggested such feelings. In fact, Naruto could more closely associate the way he acted around Sakura to the way Jiraiya was. Perhaps all those attempts to gain the pink haired girls approval was just another way for him to seek attention, desperately trying to find love from the one source that seemed to matter. Sakura was quite popular and very outspoken at the academy, she was smart too. Maybe that's why Naruto went after her. He thought that by gaining her approval, he would also be gaining the approval of everyone else in his school. It was sad and painful to think about it that way now, but it all did make sense.

Luckily for Naruto, his painful thoughts were soon interrupted when Hinata slowly fell back to walk next to him. The two shared a momentary glance between one another, before they both shyly turned away again. Naruto didn't know what to do, what to say. He just kept on looking at the greenery on the side of the road as it slowly passed his view. After a few more moments of silence, he plucked up the courage to finally speak. "H... Hinata, I don't know what happened last night but... but..." Naruto's stuttered words were promptly broken away as a hand gently took hold of his own, squeezing it in comfort. He jumped a little from the sudden surprise, but then relaxed again as he felt a sudden warming sensation at it's gentle touch. It was the same feeling he felt the night before when the two were sitting in front of the fire place together. When he turned to look at the girl beside him, Hinata's face was already staring at the ground in front of her, flushed with a slight tinge of red cheeks. There, on the bottom of her lips, he could see the faint etches of a warm smile. Naruto looked forward again, allowing his face to fill with his own heartfelt grin as well.

It felt like they were the only two people in the world. Everyone else around them were now nothing more than distant memories as the two shared the warm glow of sunlight with one another. Unfortunately for them, they weren't the only two people in the world and they had already caught the attention of the other shinobi that travelled with them. Lee was about to call out a cheer of approval, until Sakura grabbed him into a chokehold, squeezing out the words that lingered in the back of his throat with a tight pull. It seemed as though the competition for the reddest face in Konoha had earned a new competitor as the green clad genin was slowly suffocated by the pink haired kunoichi's grasp. The group continued to make their way down the dusty road in mutual satisfaction, looking back every now and again to see the two genin still holding each others hands. After walking for a few more minutes in wondrous silence, except for the few faint gasp of air from a near dead Lee, Kakashi began to scan the area for any abnormalities as he usually did. His barely visible face took on a far more serious tone than usual, however, as a small shuffling sound reverberated in the plants beside the road.

It was barely audible, in fact even most high-level shinobi wouldn't have notice it at all, but Kakashi wasn't most shinobi. He slowly looked over to the sanin walking beside him, not making any sudden movements that would alert their possible enemies. When his eye found its mark Jiraiya was already looking back at him, giving him a barely visible nod as if to confirm the jounin's suspicions. Kakashi then began to slow down his walk, alerting the genin behind him that something was off. They knew that their leader wouldn't change his pace deliberately unless something was up, even Naruto and Hinata noticed the sudden disturbance despite being lost in themselves. A few sparing glances were shared between the nervous genin as they inched themselves into a battle ready formation, moving their hands closer to their weapons holsters in preparation for the coming fight. Gaara allowed the sand in his gourd to slowly trickle out in a fine invisible dust, seeping into the street bellow them while Hinata released Naruto's hand, activating her Byuakugan to scan for their opponents.

She managed to count twelve shinobi in the immediate vicinity, and judging by their subtle movements and uniforms the Hyuuga estimated that most of them were chunin with maybe one or two jounin in their ranks. What she couldn't figure out was why so many high level ninja would attack them deliberately. What would they gain from the encounter and who was their assigned target. The Hyuuga felt a bit unnerved, mostly out of fear for the safety of the boy beside her. After reconfirming her observations one last time, Hinata carefully deactivated her doujutsu and gave off a few small hand signal using hers and Naruto's body as a shield, hiding it from outside view. Kakashi looked back to see her report before discretely relaying the information over to Jiraiya. Now, the only thing they could do is wait for their enemy to strike. There was no point in attacking first and pursuing their hunters, it would only lead them into possible traps and right now they had the element of surprise on their side. Although the enemy had the initiative and superior positioning, they had no way of knowing their movements had already been observed and thus ultimately negated.

When the assault finally did happened, it was as fast and violent as one would expect. A massive volley of kunai and shuriken suddenly erupted from the leaves, closing around the group from all possible directions. Some of the sand that Gaara had embedded in the ground suddenly sprang to life, instantly enveloping the travellers in it's protective wall and negating the projectiles' advancements. The attacking shinobi then proceeded to jump out from their cover and positioned themselves around the strange shield that was set before them. "So they want to hide in there do they. Well now that shield will become their tomb!" one of the shinobi snickered, lunging forward to attack the wall of sand. Unfortunately, it was as dumb a move as anyone could make and the overconfident ninja quickly found himself being countered by the very defence he sought to breach. Long tentacle like tendrils of sand formed out of the wall and proceeded to grab some of the nearby shinobi, slamming them into the ground or against the nearby trees.

Three of them were instantly taken out of the battle while the rest retreated back to a safer distance, escaping the deadly sand's grasp. They immediately began to change their battle plan and resorted to long ranged assaults using explosive tags to wear down the shield. The area around Gaara's defence was quickly reduced to a crater, filling the air with dust and smoke as the numerous blasts sounded off around him. "No-one could survive that!" Another of the shinobi boasted. Thinking they had now won the battle, the attacking nins closed around their apparently defeated prey, moving closer as the air began to clear from the debris. There, standing by himself in the middle of the crater, was a lone Gaara sporting a curious smirk on his face. "Hey! Where did the others go?" one of the enemies gulped, searching around for the other missing opponents. The sand shinobi just gave off a confident snicker. "You fools lost this battle the moment you let your guard down and became overconfident."

"I think it's time to fall back!" one of the ninja admitted, realizing they had all fallen into a trap. The others nodded in agreement and then moved to retreat once more, but before they could even take a single step they realized, to their horror, that their feet had already been ensnared by the remaining sand Gaara had embedded in the ground. The earth around them began to break apart, revealing the other Konoha ninja as they emerged from the floor to flank them. The trap was sprung flawlessly and their prey had been caught. Now the enemy was surrounded with little hope of escape or victory. Their own overconfidence in superior numbers and apparent terrain advantage had proven to be their ultimate downfall.

--

The battle continues in the next chapter. Is victory at hand, or are there more surprises in store for our heroes.  
Please review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	8. Chapter 8 Battle in the Shadows

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

This chapter is mostly one long battle scene. I sometimes struggle when writing battle scenes so I hope it came out alright.

Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

--

**Chapter 8 - Battle in the Shadows**

The scorching rays of a sweltering midday sun sank down onto a weary battle field, holding in it's all-seeing gaze the scars of an ensuing conflict. As the Konoha ninja threw their covert plan into action, a flawless trap had been sprung to ensnare their attacking enemies. To say that the opposing ninja were surprised to see their apparent pery emerging out of the ground to surround them was an understatement. Hinata and Lee emerged out of the floor together, Lee helping the young girl to her feet before shifting back into a taijutsu stance. Sasuke and Sakura were just across from them while Naruto emerged alone on the third corner, effectively surrounding their attackers turned prey.

Kakashi and Jiraiya then showed themselves soon afterwards and walked over to their momentary captives. The masked jounin eyed out the forehead protectors that each of them wore, widening his eyes in surprise as he did. He was disturbed to see that they were all in fact ninja from Suna.

"So, it looks like we have some troubling rogue shinobi on our hands" Kakashi grumbled, walking up to the apparent leader of the group.

"What would Suna shinobi be doing attacking an allied convoy as well as one of their own?" The other man just snickered under his breath, fighting against the sand that had restrained his movements.

"You call that monster one of us. I'd rather die than call him a comrade." Kakashi noticed the anger building on Naruto's face, the boy looked half ready to tear the man apart on the spot for what he said. Of course, Kakashi couldn't blame the boy. Naruto knew better than anyone else how people like him were treated. Gaara, however, didn't seem to perturbed by his '_fellow shinobi's'_ words. Events like this must have happened quite often to the boy for him to seem so indifferent to it by now.

"That... can be arranged if it's what you'd prefer. However, if you give me answers, I might go easy on you."

The masked jounin then turned to Jiraiya as if to silently ask a question. The sanin was carefully watching the other shinobi in case of any... mishaps on their part. Kakashi then turned back to the Suna ninja and then continued.

"Why are you attacking us... and who is your designated target?" The man lost his expression, hiding his emotions from the prying eye in front of him.

"Like I would tell you anything!" Kakashi had expected such an answer. Whoever this ninja was, he was obviously jounin rank and would not let go of such information so easily. The masked ninja took his forehead protector off from over his covered eye, revealing his hidden Sharingan. If words wouldn't help, then perhaps some... alternative persuasion would get the jounin to speak. The Sharingan was useful for instilling terror into others by using a small amount of hypnosis.

Kakashi locked eyes with the leader once more and then began to question him again.

"I'll ask one more time... why are you attacking and who is your target?" As Kakashi spoke his words he allowed a sudden rush of killing intent to flow into his detainee, followed by a fear inducing genjutsu cast by the sharingan. The man's eyes seemed to freeze in panic for a brief moment but then quickly returned to normal.

"Heh! We were told to expect someone like you with the Sharingan. We've undergone extensive training to resist it's effects so you're wasting your time. Did you really think we would attack you unprepared?" At the enemy's words, a sudden realization hit the masked jounin like a proverbial slap in the face. Their battle had been far too one sided, surely a jounin level ninja like this wouldn't have fallen for their trap so easily. The look of confidence in the man's eyes didn't help his suspicions either. Something was definitely wrong.

As if to confirm Kakashi's fears, Naruto's face suddenly went into a panic as he looked up into the sky behind the copy ninja. The jounin noticed a flash in his prisoner's eyes and quickly turned around to see a kunai with a tag on it flying towards them.

"Everyone scatter... NOW!"

At the sound of the copy ninja's words, the group of genin and Jiraiya quickly jumped out of the way, spreading themselves far and wide as the seal irrupted into flames between them. A sudden pillar of smoke enveloped the entire scene and began to choke out the shinobi's eyes and lungs. Gaara was forced to release his grip on the other shinobi and envelope himself in a shield to keep out the crippling smoke and defend against the ensuing attacks.

Kakashi slid to the ground again, grinding against the sandy road beneath him as he slowly came to a stop, losing sight of his companions in the ensuing madness. He barely managed to deflect the two kunai flying out from the smoke towards him. They had fallen into a trap of their own. The sound of clashing metal and locking fist could be heard throughout the dust filled air, followed by the distinctive release of chakra. Whoever had attacked them, they were obviously smart enough to bring more friends along, ready for any problems they might have encountered. They must have remained out of the Byuakugan's range, obviously knowing who and what they were up against from the beginning.

--

Naruto didn't know what was happening, it all went by to fast for him to really understand. All he knew was that he was now separated from the rest of his companions, fighting unknown ninja from a village that was supposed to be their allies. The blond haired genin was currently engaged with two other sand shinobi who didn't seem any higher than chunin level at the most. The young boy weaved in and out of their attacks, his movements fueled by the rush of adrenaline and his instincts for survival, but the boy was more worried about the friend he was hired to protect. How was Gaara faring by himself? Naruto knew that they had all been separated, but he managed to see Hinata fall away with Lee and Sakura was still standing next to Sasuke before they disappeared behind the smoke. At least they had backup. The only ones that were fighting on their own were him, Gaara, Kakashi and Jiraiya, all against an unknown number of enemy shinobi.

Naruto didn't worry too much about his two sensei's and he knew Gaara was capable of defending himself quite sufficiently, but even still the boy couldn't help but feel a knot from in his stomach. It was still his mission to protect the boy, even if he didn't actually always need it.

"Gaara, where are you!?" The only response Naruto got was a kunai from the depths of the smoke, which he barely managed avoid. The boy then decided that giving away his own position in battle was not such a good idea.

"You should learn to keep your mouth shut brat" one of his opponents snickered, before launching into a frontal attack. Naruto moved to block his advance, but soon found himself being flanked by the other attacking shinobi. He didn't like being outnumbered and outmaneuvered, but luckily for Naruto, the numbers game was one he specialized in. He placed his hands together and formed his favorite seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Four additional Naruto's immediately poofed into exhistance, all sporting a battle ready stance. Two of them fell back to engage the assailant to his rear while another two engaged the one in front of him. Naruto didn't have time to waist on these two, he had to regroup with someone else (preferably Gaara) and aid them where he could. He didn't like the idea of his friends being in danger. The young genin quickly ran off into the endless smoke and debris, desperately searching for another friendly face.

--

Hinata was afraid. In fact she was terrified, but it wasn't her own safety she was concerned about. The young girl saw Naruto get separated from the rest of the group and knew he was now fighting all by himself. Kakashi, Jiraiya and Gaara where capable of handling themselves in battle, but they were all at least jounin level in skill, one being a sanin. Naruto was still just a genin and now he was engaging multiple shinobi, some much higher level than himself. The dark haired girl tried to scan the area for him with her Byuakugan, but every time she did was interrupted by an attack. She barely managed to deflect one of the incoming shuriken that had been flung towards her.

"Hinata-san, you need to concentrate on the battle. I'm sure Naruto-kun will be fine, he won't be beaten so easily. The fires of youth burn brightly in his soul!" Hinata looked over to her green clad companion, who was currently sporting a 'nice guy' pose while dodging an incoming kick. She still didn't know how he could take the time to do that while in battle, but scratched it off to his strange personality.

"Alright... I'll so my best!"

Lee flashed another reassuring smile and then fell back into a battle position next to the white-eyed girl. They were currently facing off against three other attackers, locking their bodies between one another in a delicate dance of taijutsu and covering each others exposed weaknesses. It was the perfect match up. Hinata would scan for and deflect incoming attacks using her Byuakugan, while Lee countered with powerful blows to the approaching enemies. Having worked with Neji for so long gave the boy insight into Hinata's movements so it wasn't hard to quickly form a battle plan around that. The weights that the boy carried on his shins proved to be effectively powerful weapons, shattering bone as his opponents tried to block his attacks. Suddenly, another explosive tag was hurled towards them, causing Hinata to yelp in panic.

"Lee!" The said boy instantly reacted to the Hyuuga's warning, grabbing her in his arms before jumping up into the air.

The explosion promptly sounded beneath their feet as they hurtled up into the sky, rising above the smoke.

"Oh no, this is bad!" Lee had put more power into the jump than he had expected and the two now found themselves exposed targets for their enemies to attack. A dozen shuriken flew out from the plume towards them, prompting Hinata into taking action. The girl quickly swapped around mid air with her companion and deflected the attacks, allowing the two to fall safely back into the cover of the billowing smoke. Once they made contact with the ground again, the two fell back into a battle stance waiting for another attack.

"Well done Hinata, that was a very youthful move!" Hinata blushed slightly and then refocused her mind.

"T... thanks!"

Seeing that no one was in the immediate vicinity, the girl activated her bloodline and scanned the area while she had the chance. She could see Sakura and Sasuke engaging a couple of shinobi, but they seemed to have everything under control... for the time being. Gaara was still encased in a wall of sand that seemed to be effectively holding off his assailants and their two superiors were expertly maneuvering around the battlefield, dispatching enemies as they went along. The poor girl became a tad bit confused when she saw four Naruto's engaging two opponents and a fifth one running away from their direction. She didn't know which one they should help, but before she could even think about it, the two genin once again found themselves engaged in another heated dance of life and death.

--

Jiraiya had enough of this now. He was currently engaging two jounin level shinobi who were beginning to prove annoying, but he was more worried about his blond pupil and how the boy was fairing. Naruto was alone and the sanin couldn't help but fear for his life. The boy had already been through two near death experiences in the last few weeks, he didn't need another traumatic event to push him further over the edge. This blasted plume wasn't helping either. The toad sage had never seen a smoke tag cover such a large area and for so long as well. Their opponents obviously planned to remove some of their critical advantages, and sight was just one of them. Jiraiya wanted to use more high-level jutsu to end the battle quickly, but he couldn't be sure whether or not he would hit a friendly. The Suna ninja had played their game very carefully and Jiraiya was beginning to wander how they knew so much about their opponent's abilities.

"Damn it, I don't have time for this kind of shit!"

The toad sage deflected a high speed attack from one of his assailants and slammed a Rasengan into his chest. The jounin promptly spun out of view, slamming into some nearby object with a deafening crash.

"One down, one to go." The other jounin quickly formed a few hand seals and released his chakra in a devastating display of power.

"Fuuton! Blade of Wind!"

A blade of spinning chakra quickly formed around the base of the jounins hand. After gathering it into a fine stream of wind, he released it in a concentrated stream towards his older, white haired opponent. It probably would have cut straight through anything short of solid steel, but Jiraiya was not one to be so easily beaten. He simply formed some hand seals of his own in preparation to counter.

"Katon! Grand Fireball Jutsu! A large burst of flame quickly erupted from the sanin's lips, engulfing the stream of air and growing in power as it advanced. By the time it reached its target, it was strong enough to melt a hole in the side of a building. There was nothing left of the sand jounin it had engulfed in it's deadly embrace.

"Fire beats wind ass hole! Didn't you learn anything in shinobi training! Sheesh!"

Jiraiya's victory taunt was promptly interrupted when two more shinobi emerged from the shadows to engage him, but before they could even reach the sanin, their feet were pulled into the ground, burying them up to their necks in earth. Kakashi emerged from behind them with his Sharingan blazing in his eyes.

"I see the Headhunter Jutsu really comes in handy huh?"

"Where is Naruto?" Kakashi growled in response.

"I'm not sure. I felt his chakra surge just now but I haven't been able to pinpoint his position, mostly because there are too many of him to follow at the moment." Kakashi slapped his forehead in frustration.

"Damn it! Alright, I guess we should try go look for the real one then."

--

Naruto was still running through the thick plume of smoke that had enveloped the battlefield. The boy could hear the sounds of clashing weapons and jutsu, he even felt a sudden gush of heat from what felt like a very powerful fire based attack. Every time he tried to follow one of the sounds, he would happen upon more enemies, prompting him to summon additional shadow clones to fend them off. Pretty soon there was quite a large number of Naruto's spread around the battlefield. Every now and again, a few memories would flash through Naruto's mind after one of his clones were dispatched.

One of the more surprising and disturbing of which was the look of panic and shock on Hinata's face when one of his clones had found her fighting side by side with Lee. That unlucky clone was promptly backstabbed in front of the wide eyed Hyuuga who, judging by her expression, must have thought it was the real Naruto dying. The blond was currently making his way over to their last position to see if he could help them, but by the time he had gotten there, they had already since moved on.

Naruto was becoming desperate now. He silently cursed this damned smoke for interfering. He wanted to help, he wanted to be able to protect the ones he loved, but he was feeling more useless than ever before.

"What good am I if I can't even protect those important to me?"

Naruto's thoughts were jarred abck into reality when heard a scream in the depths of the smoke. It sounded like Sakura. The blond felt his heart sink into his stomach as the blood-chilling cry sounded through to his ears.

"No... NO!!!" The boy quickly ran off into the direction of the sound, no doubt there were other's doing the same and they wouldn't all be allies.

"Sakura!" Naruto sprinted as fast as his feet could carry him until he came upon the shocking sight that had prompted the girl's cries.

There, standing between Sakura and an unknown assailant was Sasuke, who had a large sword piercing through the lower part of his shoulder, right above the left lung. The raven haired boy's hands were desperately clamping onto the said blade, trying to stop it from travelling any deeper and the blood flowed freely from his wound. Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"No... No... I was supposed to protect my friends!" The blonds normal blue orbs began to form into slits as a deep anger filled into his heart. HIs fingernails began to grow even longer and his whisker marks darkened.

"I... I... I won't forgive you for hurting Sasuke!!! For hurting my brother!!!" The blond felt the rage inside of him build up into a sudden burst of power, launching himself headfirst into a battle of fury. He would make them pay for what they did.

--

Well the battle will still continue in the next chapter and Naruto has his moment to shine! (or glow perhaps) O_o  
Hope you enjoyed that chapter! :)


	9. Chapter 9 A Monster's Rage

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

The battle concludes in this chapter and a new threat reveals itself.

Hope you enjoy!

--

**Chapter 9 - A Monster's Rage**

The shadowed scars of an ensuing battlefield begin to shake and waver as a blood chilling cry releases the hidden fury of an ancient evil. It's terrible wrath and anger begins to awaken in the body of a young boy whose eyes have witnessed the pain of his closest friend. With nails sharp and eyes slit into a deadly stare, Naruto lets out a cry of rage and fury throughout the air.

"I... I won't forgive you for hurting Sasuke!" The Suna shinobi whose sword impaled the raven-haired boy sneered at the sight before him.

"So, a young boy like you would attempt to take on a jounin would you? That's what your friend here tried and look where that got him."

The jounin slowly pushed his sword deeper into Sasuke's shoulder, eliciting another cry of pain from the boy as he tried to hold its advance.

"N... Naruto..."

"Sasuke!" Naruto shot forward in a blinding speed, immediately appearing between his friend and brother and the snarling jounin. He grabbed the blade of the sword and pulled it back out towards their attacker.

"You... you're quite strong for a little brat." Naruto didn't respond, only his enraged red eyes gave his answer as they locked with a deadly stare. Before he knew it, the Suna jounin was met in the chest by Naruto's palm, sending him flying back into the smoke before landing with a resounding thud.

Naruto turned around to see Sasuke falling to the earth, only to be caught by a distraught Sakura. She quickly laid him on the ground and began to check his vitals.

"How... how is he?" Naruto gulped, watching on as Sakura inspected the wound in the boy's shoulder.

"The blade went pretty deep, he's losing a lot of blood. If we... if we don't get him medical attention soon then..." Naruto didn't need to hear anymore. His mind blanked out from the complete and utter rage he felt inside. They would pay for this, all of them. They would pay for hurting his friend.

"Arrrrggghhhh!!!!!!" Naruto let out a blood-chilling roar, his chakra emanating from his body in a cruel display of rage and power. The sheer force of it began to disperse the smoke that had enveloped the battlefield and reveal the other battling shinobi. Naruto caught site of the same jounin that had wounded Sasuke. The man slowly picked himself off the ground, a sneer still present on his face.

"Come on kid! Is that all you can do?" Naruto felt even more rage at that and he quickly shot forward in a blinding speed, slamming into his opponent's body with a terrifying force. The two sailed across the ground and into the nearby growth, slamming through the base of a few trees before finally coming to a smashing halt against a large rock. Naruto had the man pinned against it's surface, his eyes digging into the jounin's own as the two locked in a deadly stare.

--

Sakura watched on with complete shock as Naruto went into a rampant blood lust. The way he looked, the way his red eyes tore into her heart with their piercing stare, it was almost to much for the girl. Was this the same Naruto she had always known, the same boy who was always so kind and forgiving before now.

"Was.... was that the Kyuubi's power?" Before she could stop him, Naruto shot off in front of her eyes and slammed into the jounin that had been fighting with her and Sasuke. She watched as they disappeared into the trees and then turned her attention back to Sasuke who was now barely on the edge of consciousness. They were both sitting ducks, open to attack from any of the enemy shinobi. With their cover gone it wouldn't be long before someone noticed their vulnerability.

"I... I have to get Sasuke out of here." Sakura stood to her feet and began to drag her companion over to the nearby cover. An enemy shinobi spotted their movements and charged over to their position. But before he could do anything, a wall of sand halted his advance and slammed him into the ground.

"Are you alright?" Sakura turned to Gaara as he approached, breathing a sigh of relief at his timely rescue.

"I'm fine, but Sasuke's been wounded. Naruto's gone after the one who did this. He... he..."

"I know... I felt it." Gaara cut her off. "I'll try to go after him. You need to make sure you suppress Sasuke's wound and stay out of sight." Sakura nodded her head and watched as Gaara followed into the bushes after Naruto. She only hoped the boy could help her teammate.

Jiraiya and Kakashi both felt the demonic chakra that flowed through the air and cleared the plume of smoke that had hampered the battlefield. It was now open game and the clash of jutsu and weapons rung greater than ever. Lee and Hinata were barely holding their own in amongst a tide of enemy shinobi and Sakura was tending to a wounded Sasuke. To make matters worse, Naruto had gone after a jounin level ninja by himself and Gaara disappeared soon afterwards. They had to end this battle quickly, they had to find Naruto before something happened to the boy. Luckily, Jiraiya was now able to let loose with his jutsu with no fear of accidental friendly collateral. The sanin was practically racking up the score with every defeated shinobi. He must have taken out at least a dozen already, many of them jounin level. Just how many Suna ninja were there?

"Jiraiya-sama, we have to get Naruto. The Kyuubi's chakra has been released and he may become dangerous to all of us." Jiraiya slammed his palm into the chest of another shinobi, incapacitating him in a single blow.

"I know that, but we can't just leave when we want to! We have to deal with these guys first." Kakashi grunted in frustration before dispatching another foe.

The situation had veered completely out of their control.

--

"So, the kid is pissed, how sad."

Naruto bared his elongated canines as the taunting snickers of his opponent sounded throughout the air. The man didn't seem to be afraid of him at all, despite the fact that Naruto had him pinned.

"You'll pay for what you did!" he growled, tightening his grip on the jounin's throat.

"That's if you can defeat me first." The Suna ninja lifted his feet off the floor and slammed them into Naruto's chest, releasing the boy's grip on his throat and hurtling him across the ground into a nearby tree. "Little kids should learn to pick there fights more carefully otherwise you'll end up dead."

The jounin walked over to inspect his handy work when the ground began to crack underneath him. He quickly jumped out of the way just in time to avoid Naruto's attack as the boy burst out of the earth. The man quickly threw a volley of kunai at the Naruto, but he was too fast to be hit. He shot across the ground underneath his foe and jumped into the air to meet him. There was a sudden crash as claws met with kunai, before the jounin was sent plummeting to the ground. Naruto didn't relent in his attack, he just continued his assault on the man without pause. The jounin was barely able to dodge the genin's blows as the two moved further and further away from the battlefield.

The two continued to lock in a deadly clash of life and death. Naruto had a definite speed advantage, but the jounin's years of experience leveled out the playing field somewhat. The forrest around the was slowly being torn apart as the boy unleashed one wave of chakra blasts after another. The sheer power of his attacks turned stone to rubble and trees into splinters. He was definitely giving his opponent a run for his money.

"You're not bad kid, not bad at all, but you're still gonna end up losing this fight." The jounin the pulled out a kunai with a long wire attached to it. Tied onto the wire were sets of explosive tags at different intervals. "Lets see you survive this!"

The man then unleashed his attack on the unsuspecting Naruto. The boy dodged the jounin's projectile with ease, but the man only continued to sneer in anticipated satisfaction. With a quick tug of his finger, the kunai he had launched veer to the side and came around the boy, surrounding and wrapping him in a deadly grip. The jounin then formed a seal with his hands and set off the explosives, blasting a crater into the ground where Naruto stood.

"Hahahaha. Well I guess that's it then. So much for '_making me pay_'. The jounin turned his back on the smoldering ruins and was about to head back and regroup with his fellow shinobi when a voice called out to him from behind.

"You really should learn to confirm your kills, you never know when someone's using a Shadow Clone after all!" The surprised Suna shinobi turned to see an enraged Naruto standing behind him with a large windmill shuriken in hand.

"I said I was gonna make you pay and I don't go back on my word!" Naruto hurled the giant projectile at the jounin with all his strength, sending it sailing across the air to strike his target.

"You think a simple attack like that will work on me!" the man shouted before jumping in the air to avoid the projectile. As he moved above the deadly spinning blades a small grin appeared on Naruto's face, causing the jounin to frown in discomfort. Suddenly, the shuriken beneath his feat was enveloped in a puff of smoke, revealing a shadow clone of Naruto in its place.

"It... was a henge?" The clone then grabbed onto the Sand ninja's feet and spun him around in the air before slamming him into the ground.

Naruto, in all his rage and fury, then charged up to the incapacitated man as he tried to stand again and tackled him to the earth once more. Gaara arrived on the scene just in time to see the boy slamming his fist into the pinned jounin's face, following it with another blow. The boy just unleashed one assault after the other, his hands beginning to redden from the severity of his impacts. Tears began to form in the boy's eyes as he continued to slug away.

"I'll kill you for what you did!"

"Naruto, stop!!!" Naruto halted his next blow and looked up to a concerned Gaara. He slowly began to come around at the sight of his friends face.

"Gaara... I..." He then turned down to look at the heap of lifeless flesh underneath him. The man was dead.

"No... I... I wasn't meant to do that. I wasn't meant to..." Gaara walked over to the boy as he stepped up off his opponent's dead body and backed away from him. He collapsed to the ground on his knees and raised his hands to look at them. They were filled with the blood of his victim, the blood of a man he had just killed in his rage. "I... I am just a monster aren't I?"

Gaara knelt down beside Naruto as the boy broke into tears. Naruto's eyes returned to normal and his claws retracted back into his fingers. His hands didn't stop quivering, even as his friend put his hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Naruto, he would have killed you as well if you didn't stop him. He may have even killed one of your friends if you let him go."

"But... but I had already beaten him. I didn't have to do that. I murdered him in cold blood when he could no longer defend himself."

Gaara released a deep sigh. He knew how Naruto felt, it was the same guilt he felt after all the deaths he was responsible for. But both boys were under the influence of the beasts that they contained, both were subjected to the murderous call of their bijuu. It wasn't Naruto's fault, he was just an empty shell that had been controlled by the killer intent of the Kyuubi inside him. Gaara then did something that he never thought he would in his life, he slowly knelt down in front of Naruto and pulled the boy into a hug. Naruto was shocked at first, but then proceeded to cry on his friend's shoulder for what felt like an eternity, releasing all the guilt and anguish he felt inside. After a few minutes of sobbing, he then pulled out of the embrace and looked at Gaara with saddened eyes.

"I... Gaara I..." Before the boy could finish his sentence, he leaned his head back onto Gaara's shoulder and released a deep breath.

"Naruto.... what's wrong?" Gaaar tried to shake Naruto's body to lift the boy up, but he didn't respond.

The boy had obviously strained his body using the Kyuubi's chakra in top of his own chakra used when creating all his shadow clones and had now passed out on Gaara's shoulder. The red headed boy gently placed Naruto on the ground and formed a bed of sand underneath him. He was about to head back to the battlefield with the boy until Kakashi shot into view, followed by Jiraiya, Hinata and Lee. Their eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the bloody scene before them.

"W... what happened here?" Lee yelped before turning to see an unconscious Naruto.

"Naruto!?" Hinata ran up to the boy's side and knelt down to check on him. "Is... is he alright?" Gaara nodded his head.

"He's fine, he just passed out from exhaustion." They all gave a unanimous sigh of relief.

"What about the other guy, who did that?" Jiraiya murmured, looking over to the lifeless body on the floor.

"It... it was Naruto."

The sanin's head sank at Gaara's words. It seemed the boy was pushed over the edge when he saw Sasuke's injury. The thought of one of his friends dying was too much for him to bare. He knew Naruto would be hard on himself because of this. Gaara remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

"So, what happened with you guys? Where are Sasuke and Sakura?" Kakashi looked up from Naruto's form before answering.

"We managed to defeat most of the remaining shinobi. The rest of them retreated soon afterwards. I don't think they'll attack again any time soon, especially not after how many shinobi they lost. Sakura is still with Sasuke. We've managed to suppress his wound for the time being, but we should set up camp as soon as possible if we want to take care of it properly." Gaara nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll take Naruto myself, I can carry him on my sand until he regains consciousness."

With that, the team set off once again, heading back to the dusty path that was now little more that a series of scattered craters. Once they picked up Sasuke and Sakura, Gaara made another makeshift stretcher out of sand to carry the Uchiha as well, who had also since passed into unconsciousness. They had to keep moving, they had to get to Suna as soon as possible before another surprise attack caught them off guard. Not to mention the fact that they would need answers for the sudden appearance of shinobi wearing hidden sand forehead protectors. A breach of alliance was not something done so lightly and Kakashi suspected there was more to this than meets the eye. Suna would not have made such a rash move, not in their current leaderless and highly vulnerable state.

--

A few hours had passed since the battle had ended and the sun had since made it's way closer over to the horizon. The glowing haze of the late afternoon light gently bathed the shinobi sitting in a newly formed camp sight, hanging just near the border of the fire country. Everyone was now completely exhausted after the day's events. Naruto and Sasuke were lying quietly in a nearby tent, recovering from their ordeal. The Uchiha had long since woken up and was now being tended to by a concerned Sakura.

"Here, you need to take this. It was given to us by Tsunade before we left just in case." Sasuke winced in pain as Sakura lifted his head of his sleeping bag and fed him a strange white pill. The boy swallowed it quickly before giving out a disgusted yelp.

"Ughh! W... what was that? It tasted disgusting!" Sakura grabbed a nearby canteen of water and helped the boy drink, washing down the terrible taste of the unusual medicine.

"She calls them slug pills. They're meant to have extreme healing properties."

"I wonder where they got the name from?" Sasuke replied with a slight undertone of sarcasm. "I never want to taste that kind of..." Before he could finish, a sudden jolt of pain shot through the wound on his shoulder. "Arrrgggghhh!!!"

Sakura watched Sasuke squirm in agony as the wound slowly burned, completely sealing up in front of her very eyes. After a few moments of excruciating pain, it eventually subsided. Sakura took a nearby cloth and wiped the blood of his shoulder revealing a small mark where he had been stabbed. Although it wasn't quite as efficient as a healing jutsu, it still did the job very well all things considered. The girl wondered why all teams weren't given them for field missions, but wrote it off to lack of required ingredients.

"Well, I guess the taste is worth the trouble then isn't it?" With that, Sakura walked out the door, leaving a scowling Sasuke behind.

"Women! Can't live with them, can't.... live with them even more."

Sasuke then turned to the still unconscious blond laying beside him. He had been told about what happened with Naruto and the sand jounin and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about the whole situation. If he had just been a bit stronger, then maybe it could have all been prevented. Sasuke cursed his own weakness. He was never strong enough to protect those he cared for. Naruto had already almost died once because of his failure to act and now he was lying unconscious beside him.

The Uchiha's thoughts were jarred when Naruto began to shuffle on top of his sleeping bag. His eyes slowly began to open, revealing the comforting safety of the tent around him.

"It's about time you woke up." The blond turned to see a smiling Sasuke beside him.

"S... Sasuke you..."

"I'm fine" Sasuke cut him off. "Just a little flesh wound that's all. I'll be as good as new in no time." Naruto's eyes scanned over the boy's body, relieved to see that he was in fact telling the truth.

"I... I thought you were gonna..." Naruto's face fell into a frown. "Sasuke, I'm sorry. I should have been there for you. This is all my fault." Sasuke was now completely confused.

"Naruto, you didn't do anything wrong. I have to be able to look after myself as well you know. You were the one left on your own in that battle. I should be the one apologizing to you." Naruto slowly picked himself up from the floor and headed out of the tent, leaving a wide-eyed Sasuke behind.

"Naruto?"

"Sorry Sasuke, I... I just need some time to think." The boy then walked out of view and stepped away from the campsite. The other waiting shinobi watched on with heavy hearts as he walked out into the forest by himself, leaving the campsite behind him. Kakashi was about to go after him when Gaara's hand landed on his shoulder.

"I'll go. I think I know what he's going through right now. I'll try and see if I can talk to him about it." Kakashi slowly nodded his head and then watched as Gaara walked out of the camp. The red headed boy left in the same direction as Naruto, rushing to catch up with him.

"Those two really have a lot to burden, it isn't fair for them to deal with the monsters they hold inside." The masked jounin turned to jiraiya as he spoke his mind.

"Yea, it's always our past mistakes that cause the next generation to suffer so much."

--

Naruto slowly walked through the endless forest that surrounded there camp. He never once looked up from his feet as he wandered further out, putting as much distance between himself and the camp as possible. After a few minutes of walking, he finally collapsed to the floor in tears. He didn't want to be a monster, he didn't want the villagers to be right about him. He had just done exactly what everyone hated and feared him for. He had taken a life without thought or mercy.

"I allowed the Kyuubi to control me and now someone is dead because of it." Naruto looked up to the sky with tear-ridden eyes. The sun's warm rays wavered and shimmered in the boy's watering gaze.

"Naruto?" Naruto shot around in surprise as a voice called out his name. It was Gaara. The red headed boy slowly made his way up to the blond and sat down beside him.

"Look Naruto, I know what you're thinking. I've thought about the same thing a thousand times over before myself." Naruto held back a sob and tried to respond.

"But... I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have allowed myself to lose it like that. Maybe I am just a monster after all." Gaara placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed it in comfort.

"Tell me Naruto, do you feel bad about what you've done?" Naruto slowly nodded his head. "Would you change what happened if it meant you could spare his life?" Naruto nodded again. "But, had he threatened your friends life again would you not have done anything in your power to stop him, even if it meant you had to kill him?" Naruto thought about the last question for a while and then eventually answered.

"Y... yes, I guess I would have."

"Exactly. You see Naruto sometimes you have difficult choices to make in life. There will be times when you'll have to choose between the life of a friend and that of an enemy and someone will always end up dying. You'll also make mistakes sometimes and we all regret some of our descissions, but we cannot allow them to rule our lives and determine who we are. Whether or not we are human or monsters is determined by how and why we make our choices and how we deal with their consequences. All I know is that a monster would not feel remorse for taking another life and that is what makes you different."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding and wiped the tears from his eyes. Gaara always had a way of making him feel better.

"Thanks Gaara. You know, your a pretty smart guy when you try to be. You're pretty deep too." Gaara smiled at the boy in front of him, one that Naruto returned in kind.

"Just don't go comparing me to that Shikamaru kid." They both laughed at that and Naruto began to feel better already. He had made a precious friend in Gaara, one that was there for him whenever he needed help. The boy understood what he was going through more than anyone else.

"Come, lets go back now. I'm sure everyone is worried sick about you."

The two stood up to their feet again and were about to head back to camp when a dark voice called out from the shadows.

"You kids really shouldn't be wondering out on your own. Don't you know how dangerous it is these days?" Both Gaara and Naruto shot around to face the shadowy figure that stepped out before them. A feeling of ill omen filled throughout the air as a new battle for survival loomed over the two boy's ever tested lives.

--

Dum, dum, dum. A new shadow reveals its deadly presence to Naruto and Gaara. Who is the figure that now approaches the two and what does he want?  
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)


	10. Chapter 10 Falling into Shadow

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

It's another battle scene (again). Only this time, there is a lot more at stake.

Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

--

**Chapter 10 - Falling into Shadow**

A cold wind slowly blows through the forest bordering the fire country, picking up the leaves that littered the forest floor and swaying them around as the clouds loomed dark with an approaching storm. Inside its chilling depths are two young boys, both considered monsters by their villagers, now facing down a menacing shadow as he crawled out from the depths of the trees.

"Kids should be more careful when wondering out into the woods alone, you never know when someone is watching you yeah."

Both Naruto and Gaara looked on with sinking hearts as the man slowly approached them, they knew that they were too far from the encampment to call for help and they couldn't afford to run from this unknown threat. The blond boy slowly eyed the mysterious figure and took a deep gulp when he realized what he was wearing. It was the same dark cloak that he had seen Sasuke's brother wearing when they had tried to attack and capture him, its surface was also laced with the same red clouds.

"A... Akatsuki" Naruto gulped, gaining the attention of the boy beside him. Gaara turned to face his companion, only to see the pure dread filling Naruto's face.

"So, it seems you know of us, how interesting yeah. I might as well introduce myself then. You can call me Deidara-sama." Naruto couldn't keep his eyes off the blond, long haired maniac that stared them down, his visible eye filled with an unstable menace as it locked them in it's crippling gaze. The other eye was covered in some strange contraption, which could barely be seen past his long stranded hair covering the left side of his face.

"W... what do you people want with me?" the blond stammered, his body beginning to quiver in fear.

"You? Who said I wanted you hmm? You look like nothing but a shriveled up genin with a bad case of cowardice. No, it's him I want yeah." Naruto turned his wide eyes to look at the redheaded boy standing besides him as Deidara pointed in his direction, only to see Gaara's face filled with equal surprise.

"Why do they want Gaara as well?" Naruto thought to himself. But then the answer suddenly clicked in his mind. Both of them had monsters sealed inside of them, both of them were exactly the same. Whoever this guy was, he obviously didn't know Naruto was the holder of the Kyuubi, otherwise he would try to capture him as well.

"Naruto, run back to the camp and warn everyone about what's happening. I'll hold him off for as long as possible." Naruto flinched in surprise, how could Gaara just ask him to leave like that?

"No, I'm not running away, I'm not leaving my friend behind. I was given a mission to protect you and that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Deidara just laughed at what he was hearing.

"Friend? I didn't think it was possible for a _Jinchuuriki_ to have friends. You obviously have no idea what you're up against do you. I hope you appreciate fine art, because it's the last thing you're gonna see before I burn out those pathetic blue eyes of yours." The man then moved his hands over to a pouch on the side of his waist, causing a nervous Naruto and Gaara to shift into a battle ready position.

"Sasori-danna's little runts may have been defeated by the hands of your group, but the two of you alone stand no chance against me!" The man the pulled his hand out of the pouch and opened it to reveal three small balls of wrapped clay in his hand. Gaara's sand began to pour out of his gourd, filling the air around him to prepare for the coming battle. Naruto slammed his hands into one another and formed a seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly, another twenty Naruto clones appeared throughout the trees, all looking down at their assailant with challenging eyes.

"Oooohhh! This is going to be fun after all!!!" the man grinned as the clay models unfolded in his hand, revealing several small birds. "Art is such a blast!!!" The birds then flew from his hand and towards the two waiting boys. At exactly the same time Naruto's Shadow Clones proceeded to attack their target as well, jumping down from the branches to engage the man. Gaara noticed the confident grin on his opponents face as he formed a single seal, a grin that told him trouble was coming.

"Naruto, look out!"

_**"Katsu!" **_

The clay birds instantly detonated in a massive display of power and light, scattering Naruto's clones like dust into the wind. The immediate area became nothing more than a desolate ruin of smoldering debris as the trees and ground were scorched in the ensuing blast.

"Hmm, perhaps I overdid it a bit" Deidara grunted under his breath. "I need the little monster alive yeah. What would Sasori-danna say if I killed him?" The smoke and dust slowly began to clear from the air, leaving a small sphere of sand in the middle of a darkened crater. "Heh... so the little runts have a few tricks up their sleeves! This might actually be interesting"

--

Back at the camp sight, a nervous Hinata slowly looked up at the darkening sky with a heavily drawn sigh. It was going to start raining soon and Naruto still wasn't back yet. The Hyuuga couldn't help but worry about the blond boy she had come to admire. She knew what happened earlier that day and she also knew Naruto would be hard on himself for the Suna jounin's death at his hands. Hinata could only hope that Gaara could talk some sense into him before he completely tore himself apart.

"M... maybe I should go and look for them" she muttered to herself, looking back into the forest where Naruto and Gaara had walked out. The Hyuuga heiress cursed her own reluctance to approach the boy when she had the chance.

"You look like you're about to have a heart attack." Hinata looked over to the masked jounin sitting across from her, his single eye gazing at her with a concerned expression.

"Hai... it's just that... well..."

"You're worried about Naruto right?" Hinata began to blush a deep red.

"Is... is it that obvious?" Kakashi just laughed at that question, causing the girl to sink into an even deeper red than before.

"Well, it's not that hard to figure out. Judging by the way you act around him it's easy to tell that you really care for Naruto and I think it's quite obvious that he really cares for you too." Hinata's eyes snapped back up to the smirking jounin.

"Do... do you really think so?"

"Of course, you should have seen his face when you passed out this morning. He was just about ready to have a heart attack himself." Hinata couldn't help but smile at the thought of Naruto being concerned about her, but soon her smile faded away again.

"Kakashi-sama, do you think Naruto will be alright? I mean after what happened today... that is." Kakashi could see the anguished look on the Hyuuga's face. She was clearly concerned for the boy's wellbeing.

"Naruto will be just fine. Gaara has a way of getting to him when no one else can. He's really become one of Naruto's closest friends." Hinata nodded her head in acceptance, she only hoped that the masked jounin was right about the boy. Just as she became lost in thought once more, a small, barely audible booming sound was heard in the distance, shaking the nearby leaves and grass. The white-eyed girl quickly looked up to an equally alert Kakashi.

"What was that?"

Just then, Lee and Sakura and Jiraiya came running out of there tents to see what the commotion was about, even Sasuke managed to stumble to his feet despite his obvious exhaustion.

"You felt it too?" Jiraiya gulped, looking over at the other shinobi. Kakashi nervously nodded his head.

"Gaara! Naruto!"

--

Naruto's heart was racing heavily, almost bursting through his rib cage as pounded against his chest. He had closed his eyes just before the seemingly innocent attack from Deidara exploded right in front of his eyes, but for some unknown reason he was still alive and breathing.

"Are you alright?" Naruto opened his eyes to see a shell of sand arched around them, perfectly shielding them in a sphere of protection. Around his waist was wrapped another tendril of Gaara's making.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What just happened?"

"I managed to pull you out of the blast and into my shield just in time. We're safe for now, but I don't know how long I can hold out in here." Naruto let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Thanks Gaara, I owe you one big time."

"Don't thank me yet" the redheaded boy replied. "We've still got big problems on our hands right now, namely this psychotic art lover bent on killing us both." Naruto looked down to his feet and sighed in despondence.

"He's only trying to kill me. He wants to capture you alive, although that wouldn't be the case if he knew who I was." Gaara looked over to the blond boy in confusion.

"You mentioned the name Akatsuki. Just who are they anyway?" Naruto took a deep gulp as he recalled his first encounter with Itachi and his shark-like friend Kisame.

"They're some sort of organization. I think they're trying to find people like you and I... you know, people with monsters sealed inside them. He doesn't seem to realize who I am yet which is why he's only after you at the moment."

Gaara nodded his head in understanding, but was now finding himself growing increasingly frustrated inside. Why were they always hunted like animals? Why could they never be treated as human being and not as weapons or tools to be used and then discarded as pleased? The boy shook his deteriorating thoughts from his mind and then covered one of his eyes with his hand, while using the other hand to form a single seal. Now was not the time to be questioning the unfairness of the world.

"Third eye!" Naruto looked at the sand shinobi with a curious stare. It was obvious that Gaara was performing some kind of jutsu but he couldn't see any visible effects.

"Gaara... what are you doing?"

"I'm creating an artificial eye made out of sand outside of my shield. It is connected directly to my retina so I can look around safely without any risk of being attacked." Naruto grinned.

"That's a pretty useful ability. I wish I could do something like that." Gaara nodded his head in agreement.

"It works very well with my sand shield to give me an edge in defensive battles." The boy then proceeded to scan the area with his newly formed eye, searching around the forest for any signs of their opponent. After a few brief moments passed, he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Well that's not good."

"What's not good?" Naruto muttered, not liking the tone in his companion's voice.

"Our opponent is nowhere to be seen. He has no doubt hidden himself around the nearby area. As far as I can tell, he must be a long ranged fighter and he probably uses explosives to overpower his opponents. We cannot leave the defence of this shield without risk of being attacked, but we can't very well remain in here forever." Naruto held his hand up to his chin in thought.

"Hehehehe, wait a second, I have an idea!" Gaara looked over to his snickering blond companion, who was now sporting a feral grin. What trick did he have up his sleeve this time?

Deidara watched carefully from a nearby hiding spot as a small artificial eye came into existence around Gaara's defensive shield. After scanning the area for a short while, it eventually disappeared back into the very sand it was made from.

"Heh, the kids got some useful skills yeah" he smirked to himself, still watching intently. The Akatsuki member knew it was only a matter of time before the boy's would be forced come out of their protective barrier, he just had to patiently wait until then. Deidara already had C1 spider explosives littered around the surrounding undergrowth, ready to pounce at his first order. It was quite powerful in it's own right but he knew it wouldn't kill Gaara with his armor of sand. He didn't care about what happened to the other kid though.

After a few more brief moments of waiting, the sand shield began to dissipate and the man's two victims came into view.

"Heh, I didn't expect them to be this careless, but I guess that's to be expected from a bunch of kids yeah." Deidara then raised his hands into a seal. "Time to start the fireworks!" Suddenly, a volley of small white spiders jumped out into view and descended on their unexpecting prey.

**_"Katsu!" _**

The resounding blast echoed throughout the surrounding trees as the two boys were caught in the flames and dust. After the debris cleared from the air, Deidara walked into the clearing with a smug look on his face.

"Looks like I'm finishing early after all" he snickered as he walked up to the two motionless bodies on the floor. The man's face fell into a frown, however, when the figures disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Shadow Clones!?" It was then that he noticed the small hole in the ground where Gaara's shield had been, almost completely covered by the debris from the previous blast. Suddenly, a burst of sand erupted from the ground and shot over to the unprepared Akatsuki. Deidara quickly jumped back out of the way of its reach just managing to avoid its deadly grasp.

"Shit! That was too close!" Before the man even had a chance to breath, a rupturing sound came from behind his back. He quickly turned around only to see Naruto shooting up from the earth with a small blue sphere in his hand.

"Rasengan!!!" The boy promptly slammed his jutsu into the man's chest with a satisfied grin on his face. "Ha! Looks like we got you!" But the boys cheer fell away as the figure he his turned into a puddle of clay, spraying around the area as his Rasengan plowed through its centre. Naruto landed on the ground with a muffled grunt and tried to wipe his eyes from the mushy mess that covered his vision. He wasn't even able to see the small clay bird flying quickly down towards him.

"Naruto! Look out!!!" Naruto looked up just in time to see the deadly white figure right in front of his eyes.

Just as it exploded, the boy felt a hand slam into his chest, sending him hurtling into the floor with a resounding thud as the blast went off to his side. Naruto covered his head with his hands as the rocks and debris landed around him. When he looked up again, his eyes widening in horror at the scene he saw. There, lying in a motionless heap on the floor, was the red-headed boy he called his friend. There were a number of cracks all over his body, no doubt from the sand armor that protected him.

"G... Gaara!!!" Naruto ran up to where Gaara lay and promptly dropped to his knees beside him. He shook the boy's shoulder with his hands, desperately trying to wake him up from his death like state. "Gaara... please wake up! Gaara!!!"

"Hehehehe! That's it then yeah! For him to throw away his own wellbeing to protect a useless kid like you, he must have been more idiotic than I thought. Jinchuuriki have always been alone, they have always been shunned by the world around them. To rely on so-called friends is only a sign weakness, a delusional dream that hides the simple truth." Naruto looked up to the snickering man as he came out of the shadows and back into view, his eyes filled with tears as they began to turn a dark crimson red.

"What truth is that?!" he growled, locking eyes with the man before him.

"What truth you say? Why the fact that no matter how hard they try, Jinchuuriki will never be accepted by those around them. No one cares about them, in fact most villages are happy to be rid of them if the opportunity presents itself. It's just another fact of life in this cruel world of ours." Naruto felt all the rage inside himself building up like an uncontrollable inferno.

_**"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW!!!???"**_ Deidara's eyes widened in surprise.

**_"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HOW PEOPLE LIKE US ARE TREATED!!! HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE AND TALK ABOUT US LIKE THAT WHEN YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF PAIN WE'VE HAVE TO ENDURE!!!!!_**" Deidara was suddenly taken aback by the massive amount of killing intent flowing throughout the air when a thought suddenly clicked in his mind.

"About... people like you???" He then noticed Naruto's crimson eyes and enlarged canines. A massive amount of chakra began to emanate off the boys body, covering the air in a dreadful red haze.

"Ah... now I see. So you must be the Kyuubi kid from Konoha yeah, this is my lucky day indeed. Now I can bring both of you back..." Before the man could even finish his sentence, Naruto shot forward in a frightening blur of speed. Deidara managed to jump out of the way just in time to avoid the impending blow as it shattered the earth beneath him.

"You're not taking Gaara anywhere!!!" Naruto growled, eyeing out his opponent with enraged eyes. The blond Akatsuki member quickly placed his hand in his pouch and pulled out another lump of clay.

"We'll see about that yeah!" He hurled a handful of small explosives at the boy, only to have them blown away by a blast of chakra from Naruto's roar. The boy then continued to give chase to the cloaked assailant, landing one blow against the earth after another as the two grew further away from where Gaara lay.

"Ah, so he's trying to create some distance between us and his friend, how thoughtful." Deidara mused, realizing the boy was merely herding him. "Well I guess those who are hated and shunned might as well stick together."

Naruto was growing more and more frustrated by the second, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to land a blow on his opponent. It was starting to become painfully obvious that this man was way out of his ability to handle alone, but it didn't matter as long as he could keep him away from Gaara and protect his friend from harm.

--

Hinata desperately scanned the area with her Byuakugan, searching everywhere she could or their two missing companions as the rest of the Konoha nins travelled through the woods. They had heard the faint sound of an explosion while back at camp and had decided to investigate, but the more they travelled the more concerned they became about the wellbeing of Gaara and Naruto. They could all feel extremely powerful chakra spikes coming from a particular direction and had since decided to follow its trail. Kakashi turned to look at the white-eyed girl as she continued to search, hoping she would find a trace of their missing companions.

"See anything yet?" Kakashi murmured, knowing already what the answer would probably be. Hinata just shook her head, much to the disappointment of the surrounding shinobi.

They had all decided to go with, leaving the camp completely bare. Even Sasuke was trailing along, despite having only recently recovered from his shoulder injury. They travelled for a few more moments until Hinata noticed something in the distance.

"I see something!!!" Everyone turned to the said girl as she focussed her gaze on the area ahead. "It's... it's Gaara! It looks like he's been knocked out. Naruto is nowhere nearby!" Everyone immediately sped up at the sound of the Hyuuga's words, racing as fast as their feet could carry them.

Eventually they happened upon an open clearing of destruction, running up to the Sand shinobi that lay on the floor. Kakashi knelt down beside the said boy and checked his vitals. After a brief second or two of held breaths, the jounin let his face relax as he felt the steady beating of Gaara's pulse.

"He's still alive." There was almost a unanimous sigh as the others heard the jounin's words.

"B... but what about Naruto-kun?" Hinata stammered, her eyes filling with concern as they took in the scene of destruction around them. Kakashi was about to stand when Gaara began to shuffle underneath his gaze.

"Nggghhh!!!" The boy's eyes slowly began to open, revealing the terrified pupils as they gazed back at the masked jounin. "N... Naruto!" The boy quickly shot up into a sitting position, which wasn't a very good idea because he soon found himself cringing over in pain. Kakashi managed to catch him before he fell to the ground again, holding his shoulders to balance him.

"Gaara... what happened here? Where is Naruto?" The boy turned to face the others.

"We... we were attacked by this man wearing a black cloak with red clouds. Naruto said he was from a group called..."

"Akatsuki!" Jiraiya and Kakashi almost growled in tandem.

"Shit, this isn't good! Where is Naruto now?"

"I don't know... I was knocked out during the battle and..." Gaara's face then went pale with terror. "Oh no, you don't think he got captured?" Kakashi shook his head.

"No I don't think so. If he was captured you would probably have been taken as well. Judging by the marks of destruction around this area, I'd say Naruto managed to lead him away from you somehow." At that moment, a large explosion could be heard going of in the distance, followed by another sudden chakra spike.

"Alright, it's time to get going!!!!!" Kakashi barked, shooting up to his feet again. "Sakura, you stay here with Gaara and make sure he's alright. The rest of us will go after Naruto." Before anyone could protest, the shinobi disappeared in a flash, taking off in the distance of the commotion as quickly as they possibly could.

"Damn it, I hope we're not too late!"

--

**_"Rrrrraaaaaarrrrgghhh!!!!!!" _**

Naruto slammed down into the ground with another powerful blow, shattering the rock's and earth beneath him in an impressive display of power and ferocity. Deidara, however, just simply dodged it once more, jumping out of the area as it was degraded into dust and rubble. He knew he had this fight in the bag. Naruto was far to emotional to think rationally and the Kyuubi's influence was hampering his ability to reason. The Akatsuki knew it was only a matter of time before the boy slipped up and gave him the opening he needed.

It was easy to lead him on a wild chase. Although they were both now far away from Ichibi, the man's original target, it didn't matter anymore. The Kyuubi was just as enticing a prize. He couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to capture the boy who was normally safely behind the protective walls of his village, Gaara could come later. Naruto, growing even more frustrated than ever, quickly formed a seal in his hand and summoned a couple of Shadow clones.

"Think that will work on me?" Deidara snickered, taunting the boy;s anger even more. Naruto just snarled at the comment and proceeded to execute his attack.

The clones charged forward with am astonishing speed, closing around their target from multiple angles. The cloaked figure just released another clay bomb towards the approaching crowd, blowing them away with a single explosion. As he landed on the ground again, he caught sight of the real Naruto holding two Kunai in each hand.

"What's this now, running out of ideas? I guess this is getting to much for you yeah?" Naruto ignored the man's comments and hurled the projectiles at blinding speeds. Deidara readied himself to deflect the simple attack, but gaped in surprise when they all exploded in a puff of smoke right in front of his eyes. Four Naruto clones appeared straight out of ensuing plume of smoke, slamming into the surprised missing nin with a brutal impact before slamming him into a nearby tree.

"Ah, how clever of you. So you used the other clones as a distraction so I wouldn't see those four being henged into kunai." Deidara was now completely trapped, his limbs being pinned down by the four shadow clones around him. The real Naruto then blasted forward towards his crippled foe with a Rasengan firmly in his grasp. The ground underneath the boy's feet broke apart under the incredible power of his stride.

"I won't let you hurt Gaara ever again!!!" With that, the boy slammed the perfect sphere of chakra into his opponent's chest, tearing right through his body and destroying the tree with a hail of splinters. The four clones around him immediately dissipated from the impact as the shock-wave tore apart the immediate area, covering the air with a plume of smoke and debris. Once the dust had settled, Naruto's eyes caught sight of the mess of clay lying spread around on the floor.

"Damn it!!! Another clone!!!"

**_"Katsu!!!" _**

Naruto's ears pricked up at the all too familiar sound. The boy's crimson eyes widened in surprise when he realized that the clay body was filled with hundreds of small explosives.

"Oh no!" A massive blast of power soon followed, hurling the boy through the air in a smoldering heap before he promptly hit the ground with a resounding thud.

"Aaaaggghhhh!!!!"

Naruto let out a terrible scream of pain as the clothes on his body were slightly burned away, his flesh searing in the intense heat of the blast. He desperately tried to pick himself up off the ground, but found his body to weak and damaged to comply.

"G... gaara, I'm sorry I couldn't... see Suna with you..." With that, the boy's eyes fell into darkness once more as the feet of his opponent stepped into view. The last thing he felt were the tears falling down his cheeks, accompanied by the burning sensation on his arms and torso.

"Hmm, you weren't bad for a brat, but not good enough yeah!" Deidara, having achieved his victory, summoned a massive clay bird. He then picked an unconscious Naruto up off the floor and dumped him on the creatures tail feathers, watching as the boy was wrapped tightly in the clay. He then jumped up onto the creatures back and prepared to depart the area.

"I guess I'll come back for the other brat later. The others will be surprised when they see what I've brought for them" Just then, Naruto's companions appeared into the clearing, catching sight of the cloaked figure and an unconscious Naruto in his possession.

"Naruto!!!" Deidara just gave them a final snicker before launching into the air.

"Say goodbye to your little friend. You'll never have the opportunity to see him alive again yeah. I'll be sure to send the body back once we are done with him!"

"Damn it!!!" Sasuke yelled, shooting off to give chase to the disappearing figure. Kakashi quickly grabbed the boy before he could get far.

"No Sasuke, he's probably laced the entire area with traps, it's to risky to pursue him right now." Sasuke shot around to face his masked sensei.

"How can we just leave him!!!!!! Didn't you hear what that guy said, Naruto's going to die if we don't do something **_NOW!!!_**" Kakashi just shook his head.

"I know how you feel, but it's already to late. He's long gone now. We'll never catch up to him. The only thing we can do now is regroup and then plan our next move. If we rush after him now, we're only putting more lives in danger, not to mention we'll be leaving Gaara unprotected and vulnerable to attack." Sasuke was about to completely explode, he felt like strangling the stupid idiot for even thinking of abandoning Naruto, but when he saw the look on Kakashi's face, he realized it was just as hard for his sensei to give up.

The masked jounin had tears flowing from his very own eyes, tears that no one had ever seen flowing down that face before. Kakashi slowly let go of the boy's shoulder and solemnly began to walk away back towards the camp. Lee held a sobbing Hinata in his arms as the girl cried against the green clad genin's chest. He tried to remain strong pillar of strength for the girl to lean on, but found his own tears easily falling from his eyes. Jiraiya himself couldn't help but collapse to his knees in defeat.

"I should have never let him go out of my sight. I should have always been their for him." Just then, Gaara and Sakura jumped into view.

"We heard an explosion coming from this direction and we just couldn't stay away..." Sakura stopped when she saw the look of grief and tears on everyone's faces. Her eyes welled up in tears of their own when she realized what had happened. "Oh no! Naruto..." Sasuke cringed at the sound of the boy's name, a boy he had once again failed to protect.

"Why... why is it always him? Why is he always the one to suffer?! **_Rrrraaaagggghhhh!!!!!_**" The Uchiha formed a Chidori in his hand and proceeded to slam in into the ground, blasting a huge crater underneath his feet. "**_WHY CAN'T I EVER DO ANYTHING RIGHT!?!?_**"

The boy then formed another Chidori and slammed into the ground again, digging even deeper into the earth. He the followed with a third blow before finally falling to his knees in exhaustion. The other's just watched with heavy heart as he fell onto his hands, the tears now streaming freely out of his eyes as he gasped desperately for air.

"I.... I wasn't there for him. I'm never there for him." Sakura slowly walked up to the crater's edge, climbing down towards the boy and kneeling beside him.

She wrapped her arms around the crying Uchiha and pulled him towards her in a comforting embrace. Sasuke just continued to cry, more so than he had ever done before. He had lost his brother, the one person that meant more than anything else in the world to him. The stormy clouds that loomed above the slowly started to trickle with water, before coming down in a heavy pour of rain. The tears of the present shinobi were hidden inside the falling water as it washed over their bodies. Naruto was gone and they didn't even know were he was being taken. The boy they had all sworn to watch over and protect was now held in the hands of a menacing shadow, his life now hanging desperately in the balance.

--

Well, like I say, I have a difficult time writing battle scenes but I think it came out alright. Naruto's new trial really begins as his friends make plans to retrieve him. What will happen when news reaches Konoha about this dreadful development.  
Hope you enjoyed! :)


	11. Chapter 11 Darkness and Sorrow

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

Naruto's friends mourn over their failure to protect him. What terrors await the boy in the depths of this new shadow that has come to claim him?

Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

--

**Chapter 11 - Darkness and Sorrow**

The icy chill of a dreadful howling wind swept throughout a battered camp sight as an evening storm tore away at the forest bordering the fire country. Inside the sturdy yet vulnerable tents sat the uneasy bodies that held inside them the grieving souls that mourned for their lost friend, a boy who had stolen a special place in all of their hearts. It was almost as though there very lives had taken from them, because all that was left now were empty shells filled with nothing but the grief of their failure to protect Naruto from the darkness that always seemed to plague the boys fate.

Gaara had since taken up residence with Lee and Sasuke, both of whom didn't want the boy to occupy his own tent alone after what happened. All three of them just sat there quietly in each other's presence, never once sharing a word between them as they weathered the cruelty of the storm as well as that of their own emotions. It was almost as though the very prospect of speaking itself would take away what little strength left that they held left in their souls. Hinata on the other hand, was another story all together. The girl hadn't stopped crying since she returned to the camp, her heavy sobs filled throughout the small tent she and Sakura occupied while the pink haired kunoichi held her in comfort, her own tears falling easily from her eyes.

"I... I didn't want this to... happen to him..." The Hyuuga sobbed, her words muffled in Sakura's shoulders. "I used to watch him all the time you know, even back at the academy. I always watched him trying to play with the other kids or make friends, but everyone turned him away all the time. Now that he finally has them, they've been taken away from him again." Sakura just flinched at the sound of Hinata's words. She felt a small hint of guilt pressing into her heart and silently cursed herself for treating Naruto so poorly all the time, always rejecting him and running him into the ground without ever giving him a chance. Now she would do anything to see the boy's smile again, to see that feral grin that stole away the heart of anyone captured in its warm glow.

Jiraiya and Kakashi both just sat alone in their own tents, mentally punishing themselves for their failure to protect the boy Tsunade had entrusted to their safety. They both knew that once news of these events reached Konoha, it would devastate the Hokage. The toad sage hated to think how severely her heart would suffer after losing another precious soul to her cursed necklace, the last person who's neck she ever trusted to allow it grace. Now his godson was gone, the kid he had entrusted all of his knowledge and power to, the one he had hoped would eventually succeed his ideals for a better future. The old man felt the tears running down the side of his wrinkled face, tears that held in them all of the frustration and anger he held inside.

All of them were thinking the same thing. All of them were praying for Naruto's safety, praying for a way to find the boy and rescue him before something happened to him. They only hoped it wasn't already too late to save his life, too see his blue eyes glowing with the hope and promise it held for them all. The rasping wind howled outside of their tents with an anguished voice that reflected the pain they all felt inside, it was almost as though the sky itself was mourning with the rain falling as its tears.

--

"Damn! This storm is going to make me late yeah!"

The shuffling of frustrated feet sounded throughout the dusty confines of a small cave, jutting out of the side of a mountain. Deidara had been forced to take shelter from the ensuing storm that ravaged the landscape, much to his own growing impatience and detest.

"Sasori-dama is going to let me have it now... and to think I was making such good time as well yeah." The blond haired Akatsuki member continued to curse his ill luck, while pacing impatiently in the warm glowing light. A small flaming torch flickered precariously in the wavering draft that flowed into the entrance of the cave, threatening to go out at any moment. It's warm glow of light gently bathed the battered body of a young boy who lay unconscious on the cold, hard floor.

Naruto's entire body was filled with bruises and cut marks. His torso and face were both heavily burned from Deidara's crippling explosion and his black shirt and orange pants were badly torn and singed, not that the Akatsuki cared about the condition of his prisoner. To him, Naruto was nothing more than a wrapped parcel waiting to be delivered to its destination as quickly as possible, he didn't care how much pain the boy would suffer or how close he was to death. He only needed to keep him alive long enough for his Bijuu to be extracted, after that he would be dead anyway. The poor weather conditions, however, were making it very difficult for the Akatsuki to move at all. The last thing he wanted as for Naruto to regain consciousness on him and start causing more trouble.

"When will this stupid storm end?!"

--

The howling rage of the bitter torrent lasted for about two hours thereafter, before the winds eventually died and the sky began to clear, revealing the now darkened night sky. The sun had long since disappeared beyond the horizon and the stars that were panted against the endless black canvas were shimmering with the gentle glow of faint light, almost completely contrasting the previous turmoil that had just taken place. Gaara, who was never allowed the luxury or escape of sleeping, slowly exited the protection of the small tent he shared with his companions, strolling in amongst the scattered leaves and broken branches that now littered the campsite. Sasuka and Lee had already since been claimed by their overwhelming exhaustion and grief and were both now slumbering silently under the protection of their sleeping bags. The Suna-nin quietly wandered alone out of the safety of the campsite and into the nearby forest, his mind mercilessly harassed and assaulted by the nightmarish thoughts of what had just taken place.

This was now the second time he had allowed Naruto to be taken right from under his grasp, the second time he had failed as a friend and protector for the boy. He couldn't help but feel the heavy weight of guilt tearing his heart to shreds. Naruto was his first friend in the world, the first person who ever saw through his pain and sadness and helped him out of the darkness that consumed him. Now he was gone, lost in an unknown location without the hope and comfort of a friend's hand to see him through the shadow.

Gaara looked longingly up at the brightly lit moon that illuminated the sky. He was wishing... praying that he would see the face of the blue-eyed boy that had saved him from his nightmare, that it was all just a bad prank and that Naruto would pop out of the bushes with a massive grin on his face, but there was no hope of an answer. There was no feral grin or heartfelt laughter to cheer him up, there were no whiskered cheeks or bright blue eyes offering the promise of their trust and friendship. There was only darkness, and in it was held all of the grief and loneliness torturing Gaara's heart.

"I've failed again and now he will be the one to pay for my mistakes. Why must he always be the one to suffer? Why is it him that must be tortured and thrown into the darkness alone?"

Gaara felt the cool touch of a small tracing path fall against the side of his left cheek as it ran down the his face. He put his hand up against the tingling skin, only to feel the wet bead of salty water touching against his fingers. He then held his hand in his gaze, searching the clear liquid as though it were foreign to his eyes. It's watery surface sparkled gently in the soft moonlight, offering a glimmer of a spark of hope that quickly fell away into the darkness once more.

"Are... are these my tears? Am I... crying?" Just then, the call of a whispered voice hailed from behind the boy.

"You shouldn't be out here alone you know. They may still be after you." Gaara turned around to see the two figures of Sasuke and Sakura stepping out from the shadows towards him. The boy quickly wiped the lone tear from his face and hid his emotions from view. He had to be strong, he couldn't allow anyone to see his weakness right now. The emotionless mask that had accompanied him his entire life was now once again expertly disguising his true emotions inside.

Sakura, however, had already seen the glimmering water welling up inside his eyes while her own face falling into a heavy frown.

"You know, it's alright to cry if you want to. We won't think you're weak because of it." Gaara flinched at the sound of the pink haired girls words, the tears stinging in the back of his eyes threatened to escape his desperate hold. Sakura noticed the conflict forming on his face and walked over to the now quivering boy. She wrapped her arms around his shaking body and held him tightly in her embrace.

"You... haven't cried in a long time have you?" Gaara shook his head from side to side.

"No... not since my uncle died many years ago. I don't even know what it's like to feel tears running down my face any more." Sakura felt the boy sobbing in her arms as he finally allowed his tears to fall, tears that he had been holding for a very long time now.

"It's alright, just let it all out" she whispered, as she stroked his back underneath his gourd.

Gaara cried on the girl's shoulder for what felt like an eternity while Sasuke watched on with an ever heavy heart. He knew how the boy felt, it was the same feeling he held in his heart as well. They both felt like failures, like they had let down the one person who meant the most to them. The Uchiha took a deep breath and cast aside his normally calm and collected demeanor. He walked up to the sobbing boy and the pink haired girl that held him and joined in on the embrace, much to Saukra and Gaara's surprise. He tried to find the words to encourage them, to keep their spirits up in the face of adversity, but his own heart held all of the same doubts they had as well.

"Don't worry... we'll get him back, even if it's the last thing we do." Gaara pulled away from the embrace at the sound of the Uchiha's words.

"But... it's my fault he got captured in the first place. If he wasn't trying to protect me, none of this would have happened. I was their target and he should have never even been there in the first place."

Sasuke shook his head in dissagreement. "We both know that isn't true, Naruto would never run out on a friend. He'll always put the safety of those around him before himself even if it means sacrificing his life, that's just who he is. Just like the time when we fought Saiaku in those old ruins. He took a hit that was meant for me and almost died because of it." Gaara allowed his gaze to fall to the floor.

"But... it feels so wrong that he should be the one to suffer, after everything he's been through."

"He probably thought the same thing about you." Sasuke quickly replied. The red headed boy flinched at that while Sasuke continued to explain. "That's why he wanted to save you, because he knew the same type of pain and loneliness you felt more than anyone else. However, one thing I know about Naruto is that he won't give up so easily. As long as he knows he has friends trying to save him, he won't allow himself to die just yet, so we can't give up on him either."

Both Gaara and Sakura understood what Sasuke was trying to say, even though it was so hard to have hope in such a desperate situation. They all knew that Naruto would never abandon them, so they couldn't give up hope on him yet. The three slowly made their way back to the camp, holding in their hearts a newfound resolve. They would find Naruto, even if they had to search the ends of the earth and beyond.

--

The large white figure of a massive bird glowed brightly in the gentle moonlight as it sailed through the cold night air. The young blond boy who was held wrapped tightly in it's tail was now subjected to the icy cold air around him while he was taken ever further from the reach of his friends. Deidara carefully scanned the darkened landscape, searching for the rendezvous point where his partner impatiently waited for him. He eventually caught sight of a small clearing, slightly illuminated by the wavering flames of a nearby torch.

"Finally!" the blond Akatsuki sighed as he descended from the air. The large white bird he rode upon landed softly in the open space hidden on the forest floor shortly before Deidara jumped off it's back.

"You're late... again!"

Deidara cringed in discomfort and then turned to face the shadowy figure that made its way towards him, it's large frame moving ever so slowly under the dim light.

"We'll, I had a bit of trouble with the weather yeah. You know how things are Sasori-danna." The masked figure just grunted in disapproval as his short, stubby frame shuffled uncomfortably.

"Your excuses are pitiful, our master will not be happy if we waist any more time here. Have you acquired the target?" The blond man nudged his head towards the back of his clay monstrosity, coercing Sasori to look over in it's direction. The shadowy, masked figure caught sight of the battered body of the blond haired boy in its grasp and widened his eyes in surprise.

"That is not our assigned target. We were ordered to capture the one-tailed Jinchuriki, not some little genin brat." Deidara just let out a deep sigh and began to explain his battle with the Ichibi host and Naruto. He then described Naruto's transformation and the words that came from the boy's own mouth, words that confirmed his own status as a demon container. Sasori let out an approving grunt and looked over to the boy again.

"So, you've somehow managed to get your hands on the Kyuubi kid. This is an interesting turn of events indeed. I suppose it doesn't really matter which Jinchuuriki we bring back, as long as we have one." Deidara nodded his head and let out a deep sigh. It seemed he managed to avoid becoming one of Sasori's latest masterpieces after all.

"I guess we should get going then yeah." He mumbled, before jumping back onto his ride.

"No, we'll be travelling on foot from now on. We will need to avoid detection until we arrive at the extraction point and that stupid bird of yours is a dead giveaway to our position. Someone might follow it and compromise our secrecy." Deidara sighed in disappointment and dispelled the large beast, allowing Naruto's body to crash into the floor with a heavy thud. He then walked over and picked up his unconscious body before draping it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The boy's limp arms dangled against the man's back as the two Akatsuki members started their journey towards their hidden lair... and Naruto's demise.

A few hours later they found themselves arriving at the base of a large mountain hidden within the confines of a massive forest, the trees of which towered above the ground for quite some distance. There was little or no moonlight reaching the bottom of the forest floor and what small amount did was scattered in thin ribbons of glimmering rays. At the base of the mountain was a faint seal that was barely visible to the naked eye, hiding in amongst the protruding rock face. Sasori walked up to the faded etchings and formed a seal with the hand that held his ring, causing the symbol to glow a bright red in colour. The rock then began to move out of place, revealing a small entrance into a deep cave.

"Guess we finally made it yeah." Deidara murmured, having now grown tired of walking such a long distance. Sasori just grunted under his breath and proceeded inside. Deidara then shrugged his shoulders and followed after him. Although he respected the puppet master as his senior fellow artist, there were times he just felt like killing the masked man and ending his endlessly moody disposition. The two slowly made their way down the poorly lit pathway that seemed to run forever into the earth and eventually found themselves entering a large underground cavern. There, waiting patiently for their arrival, were Itachi and Kisame.

"So... it looks like you've decided to show up after all." Kisame snickered, baring his sharp, shark-like teeth as he gave off a taunting grin. Itachi just shook his head silently and threw his gaze onto the two approaching figures. It was then that he caught sight of the foreign body hanging limply over Deidara's shoulder.

"It seems as though you've acquired a different target" he mumbled, recognizing the blond boy as none other than Naruto. "May I ask how it is you managed to get your hands on the Kyuubi's container?" Deidara just snickered with glee.

He had denied Itachi, the man he hated with a passion, his own prey and would now revel in the chance to rub it in the Uchiha's face. But before he could even speak a word a sharp glare from Sasori immediately silenced his tongue, although the large amount of killing intent helped as well. The puppet master then turned back to face his fellow members.

"There were extenuating circumstances regarding the capture of the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. Apparently this boy was sent on a mission to guard him and it seems he did his job quite successfully." Itachi narrowed his eyes into a deep glare, not appreciating the mocking tone emanating from Sasori's voice. It was a look Kisame knew all to well, one that warned of certain death should anyone recklessly cross the Uchiha's path. But Itachi's voice just remained as calm and menacing as ever when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I guess he did, seeing as how Deidara here couldn't capture his assigned target, although I hate to think how he could have been deterred by a mere genin." The Uchiha's voice now carried the same mocking tone as Sasori's had before, causing the blond Akatsuki member in question to snarl furiously.

"Either way we need to seal the Kyuubi as soon as possible, the others will be joining us later. For now, put the boy in a holding cell and make sure his chakra usage is cut off, we don't want him getting into mischief while he's waiting for his fate." Deidara just sneered again as Itachi gave out his orders. If there was one man he would do anything in his power to kill, even if it meant dealing with Jashin himself, this Uchiha arrogant was the one. The blond man walked with Naruto down towards a narrow hallway at the edge of the cavern and disappeared into the shadows, leaving the other three remaining members behind. Itachi then turned back to Sasori and locked in his gaze.

"So... where is the one-tailed Jinchuriki now?"

--

The early rays of morning sunlight began to seep through into the small scattered tents, the shinobi held in their protection slowly began to wake. Gaara watched on with dampened eyes as each of them slowly packed up their supplies and cleared away the camp sight. Everyone did so with heavy hands and even heavier hearts. It was almost like watching the dead move, there was no longer life left in any of their eyes. Even Lee's enthusiasm and upbeat attitude was now completely absent, his fires of youth having now been quelled in a storm of unrelenting grief.

Once they were all done packing up, Kakashi called for everyone's attention.

"Alright, we still have another day's travel before we make it to Sunagakure. If we pick up our pace we may even be able to make it before sundown..."

"What!" Sasuke cut him off. "Why are we going to Suna? Shouldn't we be trying to find Naruto?" Kakashi gave out a deep sigh.

"We are currently running desperately low on supplies and equipment. Our journey wasn't supposed to last longer than a week and it may take us that much longer before we even find any clues as to Naruto's location. We will head to Suna and re-supply before heading out again to find Naruto... plus there is also the question of the Sand shinobi that attacked us yesterday." Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration. Although he didn't like the idea of just leaving Naruto behind, he also realised that they would be at a complete disadvantage if they weren't sufficiently prepared for a battle.

"Besides... Kakashi continued. "...we still have a mission to complete. Once we get to Suna, I will also send word to Tsunade about our current situation. With any luck, she may be able to spare us some assistance as well." Everyone eventually agreed to Kakashi's plan despite the frustration of having to leave Naruto to fend for himself. It was a sickening thought for them all to endure, but time was now of the essence and they had very little of it to waste on wandering thoughts if they wanted to save the boy.

"Gaara, you'll be leading the group forward from here onwards. No-one here knows the wind country as well as you do so it will be up to you to take us on the quickest path to Suna."

Gaara nodded his head in approval and with that, the group of shinob raced off to their destination. This was no longer a leisure journey of sight seeing and fun stops. This time they were moving with all the speed and determination they could muster, running with the wind falling on their backs and the memories of a certain young blond on their minds. Little did they know of what horrors awaited Naruto, who was now desperately trapped in an eternal darkness. The boy would have to relly on his own strength now if he is to survive.

--

Well, that's another chapter done! After two chapters of non-stop battling, it was time for some more emotional turmoil instead.  
Hope you enjoyed it! :)


	12. Chapter 12 A Monster’s Cry

**The Shadow's Embrace**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor am I affiliated in any way with Naruto. I just like the show and mangas so I wrote this fanfic.

Well, I finally managed to write another chapter! I've had to think a lot about the direction my story is taking and which characters I want to introduce into the fray, which is why it's moving a bit slower than usual. Sorry about that!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next chapter! :)

--

**Chapter 12 - A Monster's Cry**

An terrible icy chill slowly seeped into the defenseless body of a battered Naruto as the boy lay unconscious on the cold hard floor of his holding cell. The burn marks and torn clothes that covered his body were the only evidence of his traumatic battle that marked his otherwise peaceful form. Naruto slowly began to shift precariously in the cold embrace as his body slowly came back to life, his now opening eyes revealing the dark stony prison around him.

"W... where am I?" Before the boy could even think about what was happening, the excruciating pain of his injuries shot throughout his body, causing him to writhe in agony.

**"Ngggghhhh!!!!!"** Naruto could feel the burn marks on his face and chest stinging with an endless amount of torture and the fractures in his bones made it almost impossible to move, but that didn't stop him from squirming any less. After a few more moments of agony, the blond pressed his hands against the stone floor and desperately pushed himself up into an awkward sitting position, cringing in agony as he did so.

Once his vulnerably exposed body was off of the icy surface, he pried his heavily clenched eyes open once again and slowly took in the uninviting scene around him. Naruto immediately caught sight of the iron bars that held him inside the dark room, but the walls around him were irregular in shape, almost as though they had been carelessly carved out of stone rather than actually built.

"I guess... this means... they got me..." Naruto let out a deep sigh of anguish, realizing that he had obviously been captured by the Akatsuki that he fought. "At least the others are safe, I just hope Gaara is alright as well." The boy's mind flashed back to the motionless body he had left behind while fighting Deidara. He knew the boy was still alive, but he still couldn't help but worry about his friend's well-being.

Naruto shook away from his thoughts and then searched the dark hall around himself, trying to find any clues as to how much time had passed since he had been knocked out, but there was no light entering into the prison that held him. He could hardly even see past the iron bars that prevented his escape. Naruto slowly inched his way to his feet, trying desperately to fight against the pain that overwhelmed his body.

He had to get out of here, he couldn't allow these bastards to take away everything that was important to him. The boy had finally found what made him truly happy in life and he didn't want to give up on it just yet. Naruto, using what little strength he had left in him, raised his hands to form his most commonly used seal.

"If I can summon a Shadow Clone, then I can then use a Rasengan to bust out of here" the boy thought to himself, trying to mold his now exhausted chakra.

Naruto tried to focus his energy, but a burning sensation around his wrists quickly formed whenever he did so. The boy's surging power immediately faded away as suddenly as it materialized and when he looked down to his burnt arms, he noticed the source of the problem. Fastened around each of his wrists was a small metallic shackle, both of which had seals marked around their thick metal frames.

"Damn it!!!" Naruto tried to mold his chakra again, but the seals on his cuffs began to glow brightly when he did and his chakra quickly disappeared once more.

Naruto fell to his hands and knees in exhaustion after a futile third attempt, his wrists now having heavy chakra burns marked around them. The pain and fatigue slowly began to consume his body once again, as well as the dire hopelessness of his situation.

"I... I can't do it..." Naruto was now panting heavily for air, desperately trying not to give into his body's overwhelming exhaustion.

"It's futile to try and escape young Naruto Uzumaki, although I'm sure you've figured that out by now."

Naruto looked up to see two dark red eyes staring at him from beyond the shadows, there cruel gaze piercing into him with all there malice. He knew those eyes, he had already seen their tormenting stare before. The figure slowly stepped up to the iron bars that held Naruto and began to open them. The boy could only watch as the man known as Itachi stepped into his cell, his body being to weak to even stand to his feet again or hope to defend himself.

"Those braces on your wrists are made out of the same material that Kizame's sword, the Samehada, contains. Any chakra you used will simply be absorbed or disrupted. Add to that the chakra disrupting seals that have been placed on them, you won't even be able to mold chakra at all, so there is no point in trying any of your tricks."

Naruto looked up to meet the Uchiha's cold gaze. The boy hated those eyes, it was the same look he had endured his entire life up until this point. They were were the same eyes that saw him as nothing more than a beast, an animal to be used as pleased and then discarded when no longer necessary. Itachi immediately noticed the resentment in the boy's expression, but he simply brushed it aside.

"You... what do you people want with me? Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Itachi was about to answer the boy's question, but before he had the chance Naruto suddenly shot to his feet, completely ignoring the excruciating pain and exhaustion that enveloped his body, and charged at the surprised Uchiha. The young genin swung a clenched fist at the calmly poised Itachi, but his attack only met thin air. Before he knew what was happening, he felt a kick shatter painfully against his back, sending him flying into the cold hard floor beneath him.

"So... weak, no wonder Sasuke has fallen so far behind me. Having a friend like you has softened his resolve to kill me and made him powerless." Naruto coughed up a mouth full of blood, holding his burning chest as the shooting pain crippled his movements.

"Sasuke... is... not weak..." Naruto panted, trying to pick himself off the floor again.

"He's... my friend... and my... brother..." Itachi flinched as Naruto spoke, his eyes narrowing at the young boy's words. "... and he's more important to me... than he ever was to... you... so don't say... anything about... him... in while I'm here..." The older uchiha simply snickered in mockery of the boy's outburst.

"And what are you going to do to me if I don't comply?" There was no answer. "As I thought, this discussion is pointless. I hope you have fond memories of your time with my brother, because this is the last moment you'll have to think about your life before you die."

Itachi then walked up to the still struggling Naruto and grabbed him by the arms. He twisted them painfully behind the boy's back, locking them together in his hands, and pulled him brutally up off the floor causing Naruto to scream in agony as he did so. The young Jinchuuriki tried to struggle free, but a kunai landing at the base of his vulnerable throat quickly silenced his protests.

"There is no point struggling anymore, you might as well just give in to your fate. If you don't cooperate it will only cause you even more pain." Itachi pushed the boy forward, while still holding him firmly in his vice like grasp. Naruto barely even managed to find the strength to shuffle through the darkness, his body constantly threatening to collapse at any moment from the sheer amount of pain he was in. He hadn't eaten since breakfast the previous day and his body was still marked heavily with the wounds of his ordeal.

After a few more moments of walking (or limping on Naruto's part) through the seemingly endless maze, they entered into the opening of a large underground cavern, where three more shadowy figures were patiently waiting for their arrival. Naruto immediately recognized the blond Akatsuki that he had battled before and growled in frustration while the man simply looked him down on him with a mocking grin. Naruto also recognized the shark like Kizame from his previous encounter with Itachi, but the third figure he hadn't seen before.

"Are the others gathered yet?" Itachi enquired, looking around the otherwise empty cave. As if on que, a shadowy specter began to manifest in the centre of the cavern, causing the four of them, as well as a now panicking Naruto, to turn their attention to the new presence.

"Good, you are here. I will assume you have the target ready for extraction?" The silhouetted figure was almost completely unrecognizable as it wavered and flickered in the darkness. Only his ring like eyes could be made out piercing from the otherwise intangible face.

"We have a host ready for extraction, although it was not the one intended Pain-sama." The said man looked over to the young boy in Itachi's possession as the Uchiha explained the situation to their apparent leader. Naruto tried to struggle against the man's firm hold, but his attempts were still in vain. The boy didn't know what was going on, but the word _'extraction'_ didn't sound too good in his books.

Once the Uchiha had finished explaining the circumstances of the boy's capture, much to Deidara's growing ire at having been left out of the loop, Pein's eyes disappeared into his shadowy silhouette for a brief moment before reappearing once again.

"This development will cause us some problems. We cannot seal away the Bijuu in the wrong order, otherwise the balance of the sealing statue will be lost and it will be destroyed. The Nine-tailed beast was to be sealed last." Deidara pouted in disapproval, wondering if all his hard work had been in vain.

"But the longer we keep him, the more danger we have of his precious Konoha friends finding him yeah. That could cause even more problems." Pein calmly nodded his head in agreement, having already thought of a solution to their problem.

"We will have to seal the beast away in a temporary vessel until the other Jinchuuriki have been ascertained. As long as he is alive, the risk of his companions finding him will increase." Naruto was not liking how this conversation was going.

"Hey, what do you think this is!!! You're all talking about me in front of my face as though I'm nothing but a pile of trash, and now you're going on about some sort of sealing! Just what the hell are you guys doing!?!"

Naruto's outbursts were simply ignored while the shade turned away from the shouting boy, it was almost as though he wasn't even there. Pein then formed a seal in his hand before slamming his fist into the ground.

"Summoning Technique!!!"

The entire cavern shook violently as the ground began to break open, causing Naruto's furious rants to instantly silence as the boy watched a massive statue appear out of the earth. It was an ominous figure that had nine closed eyes dotted around its face. There were two hands protruding from the ground in front of it and its wrists were bound together with chains while its fingers pointed up towards the ceiling.

"Itachi, prepare the boy for extraction immediately. It will take a number of days to complete the sealing process, especially with Orochimaru missing from our ranks." The said Uchiha nodded his head in obedience and shoved the now quivering Naruto forward, moving him towards the centre of the large cavern and right in front of the massive, cold looking structure.

Pein vanished from his position on the floor and reappeared on one of the ten fingers that stretched out from the statues shackled hands. The other three waiting Akatsuki also jumped up onto their own appendage and formed seals in their hands. Naruto watched on in panic as more shades began to appear on the other empty positions that had yet to be filled.

"I'm sorry young Uzumaki, but this is the end for you." The Uchiha released his grip and shoved the boy forward and onto the dusty floor, causing him to wince in pain as he hit the dirt with a heavy thud.

Itachi then jumped back up to an empty position on the ominous statue and formed his own seal. Naruto tried to move to his feet to escape the cruel fate that awaited him. He stumbled across the floor as fast as his legs could carry him, before Pein motioned his hand towards the boy. Naruto felt his body suddenly become heavier and soon he was crashing down once more, being pinned firmly to the flat of his back.

"Aaaggghhhh!!!!" The boy screamed in pain as an invisible force held him firmly against the ground, ensuring that he didn't try to escape. Pein then made a few more seals and summoned another smaller object that looked more like an oversized gourd than anything else. It's surface was filled with numerous containment seals and it was then that Naruto realized what they were going to do.

"No... please don't do this! Please!!!" His cries were just ignored as the shadowy figure that was Pein turned to one of the other shades whose body looked like he was being swallowed by a giant carnivorous plant.

"Zetsu, use your real body as a look out for any approaching trouble. Make sure you use your furthest scanning range."

"I know... it will be done."

Pein then moved his attention back to the young boy lying hopelessly on the cold floor, the tears of fear now begging to stream down his whiskered face. Kizame looked over to the expressionless face that was Itachi, although it was so to most people. But the man's long time partner could see the subtle hints of discomfort in the Uchiha's eyes.

"What's wrong Itachi, you don't still have some feelings of past attachments to your old village do you?"

Itachi didn't respond, at least not in any visible way, but the large amount of killing intent directed towards the shark like man instantly reminded him to carefully hold his loosely flickering tongue, lest he wished death upon himself.

Pein, ignoring the light talk between the other Akatsuki members, quickly formed another seal, causing each of the occupied spaces on the statues fingers to begin glowing brightly as they were enveloped in a sphere of energy.

**"Fuuin Jutsu! Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin!!! **

Naruto could only watch on in horror as nine, blue dragon like figures made of pure energy shot out of the statue's mouth and dexcended towards the paralyzed boy. He could do nothing to escape the approaching danger and was forced to wait in pure terror as the light began to envelope his body. As the jutsu impacted into his motionless frame, the boy began to scream out in agony, writhing in the pure anguish of his torture, a torture that would still last a number of days to come.

The cries of terror and agony filled throughout the cavern, echoing of the walls and amplifying the boy's sounds of anguish as his body slowly lifted into the air. Naruto's struggling form was eventually halted in mid air, suspended a number of meters above the ground as the essence of his Bijuu began to leave his body through his mouth and eyes, while being transferred into the gourd like structure lying on the floor.

"So it begins!"

--

The howling cry of a swiftly blowing breeze wisped off the dunes and rocks that covered the vast open dessert, carrying with them the harsh spray of scattering sand that stung against the bodies of a traveling group of shinobi. Gaara was leading his convoy through the quickest path to Suna, trying to make as much ground as quickly as he possibly could. Every now and again, the sand shinobi would take a moment to look back to see if his followers were still on his trail, but no one had fallen behind once.

They all new the importance of their haste and they weren't about to let their missing friend down. Gaara turned his vision forward again, scanning the horizon as they made their way under the blistering sunlight, trying to search for familiar landmarks to guide his movements. The boy suddenly halted in his tracks when a sudden pain began to fill in his heart, causing the other shinobi behind him to stop as well.

"Gaara, what's wrong?" Kakashi murmured, walking over to the red headed boy who was now firmly clenching his chest. The masked ninja could see the terror in the boy's eyes as they turned to meet his gaze.

"Something... terrible is happening to Naruto. I can... I can feel it." The others just paled at the boy's words, knowing he wasn't just making this up. Gaara looked forward again, his resolve hardening once more as his mind wandered to the thoughts of his first true friend.

"We need to hurry."

There wasn't even a moment's hesitation as the group shot off once again, increasing their pace to even higher levels than before. The red headed boy could feel the pain burning away in his heart, knowing that their time was now growing thin.

A few hours had passed as the group made their way through the endlessly massive dessert that was the wind country, never stopping once for a break. They drank their water as they moved and passed along food to one another while still traveling. Even Hinata and Sakura managed to keep up the grueling pace, despite their lower stamina levels.

The sun began to slowly make its way through the centre of the sky and over towards the horizon, signifying the ever moving passage of time in a painful message of growing hopelessness. It almost seemed as though time itself were secretly working against them, trying to hinder their every effort. Relief only came to the weary travelers when the sight of Suna's massive walls finally appeared in front of them, causing their hearts to falter at the sight of the village.

"We're finally here..." Gaara murmured, feeling both happy and sad to see his home again. He would have been much happier if Naruto was there at his side to see it with him.

The traveling group finally arrived at the front entrance to Suna, where a group of shinobi came to greet them. Kakashi showed them their mission papers, confirming their identity as the team sent by Konoha for Gaara's protection. The man went through the list of names and identity photos, ensuring that they were all correct.

"Well everything seems to be in place..." He began to murmur, when he realized there was someone missing. "Hey, weren't their supposed to be seven of you?" The man watched as the faces in front of him contorted in discomfort, prompting an explanation from Kakashi.

"One of our members was captured by attacking enemy forces. We'll need to speak with Baki immediately before re-supplying and heading out again as soon as possible." The man nodded his head in understanding.

"Alright, come with me. I'll escort you to the council chambers." The group then entered into the massive gates that hid Suna from outside eyes.

The present genin could only gasp in wonderment as they took in the unusual scenery and architecture, it was amazing just how different this place was from Konoha. Only Kakashi, Jiraiya and Gaara remained unaffected, all three having long before seen behind the Suna's walls. They hastily made their way up to the village's Hokage tower and entered into its long winding hallways, Gaara all the while ignoring the indignant stares directed towards the _'village monster'_. They were almost outside the council chambers when a voice called out to stop them.

"Gaara... is that you?" The said boy turned around to see a wide-eyed Temari staring back at him, with an equally surprised Kankuro walking beside her. They both knew he was returning home, but he had arrived a lot sooner then they thought.

"Brother... sister..." The boy quickly ran up to the two shinobi and threw his arms around his siblings. The two of them just stood there, stiffened in surprise at the sudden unusual display of affection and the odd titles he had given them.

"I... I missed you guys so much. There have been a lot of things happening and..." Temari could hear the severe amount of anguish in her brother's voice, it was something she had never felt in her younger sibling before now.

"What's wrong Gaara?" The other Konoha-nins just watched as the boy slowly broke into tears once more, crying in the arms of his two siblings for the first time in his entire life. Kankuro's brotherly instincts immediately took over and soon he was trying to comfort the boy.

He looked up to his equally shocked sister, whose face was now filled with immeasurable concern, and then over to the Konoha shinobi further down the hallway. They were both thinking the same thing.

"What happened?"

--

About an hour had passed before the team of now exhausted shinobi were finally seen by the village council and debriefed on their mission and the group used the waiting time to explain their situation to the other two Suna-nins. During the debriefing, Kakashi and Jiraiya both gave their accounts on the events that took place during their journey, mentioning both the attack from the unknown Suna-shinobi and Naruto's eventual capture. Baki had a stern look on his face throughout the entire meeting, while Kankuro and Temari just thanked the heavens that their brother was still safe, although the boy himself didn't seem to happy about it.

"So, you were attacked by shinobi from our own walls?" Baki concluded, scratching his chin in thought. "There have been several disappearances amongst our shinobi patrols in the last few recent months, perhaps there may be a link between the two incidents." One of the council members turned to the clearly irate jounin and began to speak.

"We will investigate the disappearance of these men as well as the attack on your team as soon as possible, perhaps we may find some clues as to where your campanion might be as well. In the mean time, you are welcome to stay here in our village as long as you need. Just send us a list of your required supplies and we will see to it that you receive them as quickly as possible."

Baki nodded his head in silent approval, relieved to see that the council was being so helpful to the otherwise foreign shinobi. Kakashi and Jiraiya were both equally grateful for the show of support and bowed their heads in gratitude. Times had changed indeed for the two allied nations. Having now completed their mission, they were all about to be dismissed when Gaara stood from his seat and began to speak.

"Honorable counselors, it is my solemn wish to join the team of Konoha shinobi in their search for their missing comrade, he was a good friend of mine and has aided our village directly in more ways than one. I feel I owe it to him to help as best as I can." Both the council and Gaara's siblings were surprised by this sudden turn of events, the elders for his respectful demeanor and his siblings for his apparent calmness towards those that loathed the demon container.

Unfortunately, some evils don't change as easily as one would hope and in the arrogant eyes of the village elders, Gaara was still just a weapon gone wrong.

"Sabaku no Gaara, although you may have close ties to this missing boy, we cannot allow you to leave the village at this point in time. It is to dangerous to..."

"So you're all afraid of losing your precious weapon, is that it?" Gaara cut them off. The boy could hear the cold indifference in their voices when they addressed him and he didn't appreciate their ever-present ignorance that still brooded in their incoherent minds.

"I don't think you understand _'honorable counselors'_, this isn't a request. I intend to aid them whether you like it or not, I just thought I'd let you know of my intensions in as polite a manner as possible." The boy still spoke as calmly as ever despite his growing frustrations, but Temari and Kankuro could easily sense the unmistakable ire in his voice. Before anyone could say anything more, the boy turned and quietly walked out of the room, slamming the door coldly behind him. There would be no more tears for him now, not until he found and rescued his friend again would he allow himself the luxury of crying.

One of the counselors was about to protest at the severe lack of respect he had shown, but a calm glare from Baki quickly silenced his tongue. The jounin stood from his own seat at the large round table before clearing his throat to speak.

"I would sincerely hope that this council remembers the debt we owe Konoha for our transgressions against them, as well as the debt we owe Naruto Uzumaki for his services to our village." Some of the elders were ready to protest, but none could find the words to challenge the esteemed shinobi. Eventually they reluctantly gave into the jounin's unspoken request.

"Fine, Gaara may assist in the search for Naruto Uzumaki, but it will still be regarded as a normal mission though, so we expect him to perform amicably as usual." Baki nodded his head in approval, ignoring the implied incompetence on the councilor's part.

After that was settled the rest of the Konoha shinobi were dismissed and shown their temporary quarters. Kakashi and Jiraiya stepped out to fetch supplies for their new mission soon afterwards, leaving the other remaining genin behind. The sun had long since disappeared behind the horizon, and the cooling embrace of nightfall filled within the air.

"Damn it, we're wasting time here!" Sasuke growled, infuriated that they weren't searching for Naruto. The boy couldn't stop pacing impatiently, while waiting for the older shinobi to return. Sakura stepped over to the fuming Uchiha and placed her hand gently on his shoulder, while Lee just watched wearily from the nearby.

"Kakashi-sensei said that we need to get some rest before heading out again, otherwise we'll just cause more problems for ourselves. We won't be able to rescue Naruto if we aren't sufficiently prepared for our journey. Don't worry, we'll find him, we have to."

The dark haired boy just tightened his fists at his sides. He knew the girl was right, in fact her logical reasoning was the only thing Keeping him from blowing up completely, but it didn't make things any easier for the Uchiha to bare. His eyes wandered over to the other genin waiting just as impatiently in the room, although they had other ways of showing it. Lee would distract himself with any manner of training exercises while Hinata just prodded her fingers together in discomfort. Sasuke could see the anguish on all the faces of his companions and knew that they were just as frustrated as he was.

Kankuro and Temari were both there with them as well, talking with their younger brother and going through the last couple of days as he explained his journey to them. Every time he mentioned Naruto's name, the boy would flinch in agony while holding back his urge to destroy something. It was then that it became painfully obvious to his siblings just how close their brother had grown to his first friend and how much they owed him for their brother's returning sanity.

Hinata eventually stepped outside onto the balcony that extended from the second floor of their quest suite, looking up at the stars that the world shared in her gaze. She always felt comfortable while looking at the glimmering sparkles that dotted the heavens. It was the only thing that united the hearts of all the people around the world, the one sight they all shared in common with each other. It was also the only connection she felt could Naruto right now, wherever he was now.

"I wonder if Naruto-kun is looking at them right now from where he is as well?" Hinata thought quietly to herself, as her eyes scanned across the endless sky.

She didn't even want to think about the pain Naruto was in, or the loneliness he was now forced to endure by himself once more without a hand to hold through his ordeal. Tears began to trickle down the heiress' cheeks, gently caressing the girl's saddened face in the only comfort they could offer to her before falling coldly to the ground bellow. The only boy she had ever grown close to was now lost to her and the Hyuuga couldn't hold back the pain that tore away at her heart.

--

The dark icy cavern that held Naruto in it's inescapable maze-like prison now glowed with the florescent colours of a powerful light, enveloping the entire cave in its wavering hews of shimmering blue shades. The entire day had slowly passed away while Naruto's broken body was suspended precariously in mid air. The essence of his powerful captive was agonizingly torn away from his weakened form while surging into the large glowing vessel below him.

The boy's anguished screams had long since subside, Naruto having already passed out from the sheer pain of his ordeal, and the cavern was now completely silent aside from the screeching sound of flowing energy. Another hour slowly trudged by, when Pein finally noticed that something was amiss.

"Something is wrong..." Everyone turned to their outspoken leader as he murmured in a calm, monotone voice. "... There hasn't been a change in the sealing container all day, it's almost as though nothing has happened at all."

The dark figure released his hands from one another and abruptly cancelled the sealing jutsu. Everyone else watched in surprise as the light around Naruto's body dissipated, allowing the boy's body to fall limply to the floor bellow him, landing with a merciless thud.

"What's going on?" Deidara hissed, now completely pissed off about the waisted time. His groaning was only further amplified by the frustrated grumblings of his fellow members. There was no answer to be had as their leader's figure simply vanished from where he stood and reappeared next to Naruto's now motionless body. He leaned over the unconscious boy and lifted his mostly torn shirt, exposing the still glowing markings on his stomach.

"Hmmm, it's just as I suspected. The boy's seal has yet to be broken." The other members looked at one another in confusion, trying to decipher what the man meant. The shady figure seemed to sense their confusion and began to explain.

"Under the normal circumstances of an extraction, the overwhelming pressure of the Bijuu's escaping chakra on its host's seal causes it to rupture and break away. This allows the demon's essence to escape freely from their bodies without any hinderence, but it appears as though the Yondaime's own seal was far more expertly crafted than most. It seems to allow the Kyuubi's chakra to freely move through into Naruto's body unhindered, without damaging the seal itself while still managing to keep the demon contained. He obviously planned for these very circumstances with a great deal of hindsight."

"So that means that the only thing that's been leaving the boy's body this whole time was just the Kyuubi's normal chakra?" Kizame surmised, sounding unusually insightful for someone of his veracious demeanor.

"Yes, that would be correct." Pein then turned from where Naruto lay on the ground to face the only four physically present Akatsuki.

"It seams as though we will either have to manually weaken the seal or force it's container to remove it himself. Whichever path you decide to pursue, I expect the four of you to see to this task through in whatever way suits you. Call on us again once you have made any breakthrough, I will remain in contact until then."

With that, the Pein figure began to waver and disappear into the darkness followed soon after by the other present shades as well, leaving only Itachi, Kisame Deidara and Sasori behind. The four of them jumped off the now sinking statue, down towards the unconscious Naruto lying on the floor.

"This is troublesome yeah! The longer we have to keep this brat in our custody, the more chance we have of being found by his companions." Sasori scolded the blond man for his for his constant complaining and bickering while Itachi just remained as calm as usual, exuding an air of confidence that irritated Deidara even further beyond belief.

"I doubt they will be able to find us here and even if they eventually do, by then we would have already achieved our goal." Itachi then turned to his long time partner and motioned his head towards Naruto.

Kizame walked over to the unconscious boy with an arrogant smirk and dragged Naruto off from the floor, throwing the jinchurriki's battered body over his shoulder before taking him back to his holding cell.

"You're very unlucky kid..." He smirked as he made his way through the darkened cavern. "Your last moments in life are going to be that much more painful from now onwards."

--

**Note: 'Fuuin Jutsu! Genryuu Kyuu Fuujin'** - 'Sealing Jutsu: Complete Nine Illusionary Dragon Seal'

Naruto's friends depart from Suna in the next chapter, while Naruto tries to survive in the confines of eternal darkness. Will the boy be able to endure the shadow's embrace, or will his heart become lost in darkness? And what's with the rhetorical questions? Find out in the next chapter(s)! XD

Hope you enjoyed! :)


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